The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Members, we have r eceived the Minutes for June the 3rd, 2016. And if there are no corrections, no adjustments, then those Mi nutes will be confirmed. As there are none, the Minutes of June the 3rd are confirm ed. [ Minutes of 3 June 2016 confirmed] MESSAGES FROM …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY REPAIRS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Honourable Members, first , I do have a short statement to read. Good morning, Members, and to our listening audience. Most Bermudians are aware that the House of Assembly is undergoing repairs, and as a result, our front entrance has been closed to the public for some time. On …
Yes. Honourable Members, first , I do have a short statement to read. Good morning, Members, and to our listening audience. Most Bermudians are aware that the House of Assembly is undergoing repairs, and as a result, our front entrance has been closed to the public for some time. On Wednesday, the Members of the Senate held their first meeting in the Chamber. Over the summer, we hope to make more progress . . . And Members should not be talking when the Speaker is giving an announcement! [ Pause]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOn Wednesday, the Members of the Senate held their first meeting in the Chamber. Over the summer, we hope to make more progress when the building will be empty and the staff housed els ewhere. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the staff who have been working under …
On Wednesday, the Members of the Senate held their first meeting in the Chamber. Over the summer, we hope to make more progress when the building will be empty and the staff housed els ewhere. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the staff who have been working under conditions that have been less than adequate, and without complaint, and doing a good job. In the summer, we hope they will be housed in much better conditions, and as a result of the work done by the Public Works team, they will be able to return to a renovated facility. Over the past several months, we have had the congenial and dedicated workforce of the Ministry of Public Works working on various aspects of this building. They began in the Speaker’s Chambers and are currently working on the steps to the East Tower. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the small team for the very fine work they have been doing. And to name some of the Members, they are Shawn Smith, Angelo Curtis, Antoine Darrell, Quinn Outerbridge, Kei shawn Woods , and Michael Brangman. Thank you very much. APOLOGIES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI would like to announce that Members, the Minister for Economic Development, from constituency 22; MP Zane De Silva, from constituency 29; and MP Jamahl Simmons, from constituency 33 are all away today on business. HOUSE VISITORS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI would also like to inform Members and welcome the members from M3 Dellwood Middle School, who are here— [ Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThey are here with their teachers, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Palmer and Ms. Smith. These young peo-ple are studying about Parliam ent and how parli aments work. And so, hopefully, they will leave here better informed after their visit to this House. [ Pause] MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE HUMAN RIGHTS AMENDMENT …
They are here with their teachers, Mrs. Grant, Mrs. Palmer and Ms. Smith. These young peo-ple are studying about Parliam ent and how parli aments work. And so, hopefully, they will leave here better informed after their visit to this House. [ Pause] MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE HUMAN RIGHTS AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2016 2008 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Yes. Honourable Members, I do have a message f rom the Senate. It is that the Senate has the honour to return to your Honourable House the accompanying Public Bill entitled the Human Rights Amendment (No. 2) Act 2016, recommending the concurrence of your Honourable House in the follo wing suggested amendment which it has proposed should be made to the Bill. In cla use 3 of the Bill, at paragraph 3(b) and paragraph 3(c) be amended by deleting, where they appear, the words “criminal record.” And that is from Senator the Honourable Carol A. M. Bassett, the President of the Senate. The Chair will now recognise the Minister r esponsible for Human Rights. Sylvan Richards, you have the floor.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, under the provision of Standing Order 31(2), I move that the amendment proposed by the Senate to the Bill entitled the Human Rights Amendment (No. 2) Act 2016 be considered forthwith in the House.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAre there any objections to that? Please carry on, Honourable Member. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I ask that the [pr oposed amendment to the] Bill be now committed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAre there any objections to that? I would like to ask that the Deputy Speaker please take the Chair [of Committee] . [Pause] House in Committee at 10:10 am [Mrs. Suzan n Roberts -Holshouser , Chairman ] COMMITTEE ON BILL HUMAN RIGHTS AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2016
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, we are now in Committee of the whole House for further consideration of the amendment that is before us to the Bill entitled the Human Right s Amendment (No. 2) Act 2016. I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Sylvan D. …
The ChairmanChairmanMember, can you just hold on a second? We want to make sure that individuals w ho need the copy of the original legislation have it in their pos-session . Does everyone have a copy of the amended Bill? All right. We will make sure that it is distributed. The …
Member, can you just hold on a second? We want to make sure that individuals w ho need the copy of the original legislation have it in their pos-session . Does everyone have a copy of the amended Bill? All right. We will make sure that it is distributed.
The Clerk: Mr. Sergeant -at-Arms .
[Pause for distribution of documents]
The Cha irman: Thank you. If anyone requires the original piece of legisl ation, that is also available. Minister, please proceed. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Madam Chairman. I move, in clause 3 of the Bill —
The ChairmanChairmanClause 3. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: —that [clause] 3(b) and 3(c) be amended by deleting, where they appear, the words “criminal record.”
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Are there any Members who would like to speak to the amendment that is before us? The Chair recognises the Opposition Whip. Are you standing to speak? [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanNo. Okay. Are there any Members who would like to speak to the amended clause? Thank you. The Chair recognises Member from constituency 18. Mr. E. D. G. Burt, Shadow Mi nister of Finance, you have the floor.
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much. I was wondering— of course, it was in another place, so I am not entirely certain if it is proper —but if the Minister may have received any communication from the other place as to the reason for or the re asoning for this amendment from …
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Member. The Chair recognises the Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Madam Chairman. The amendment is being moved to remove the words “cri minal record” from [ clause] 3(b) and 3(c) of the Bill because the motion will avoid unforeseen consequences with regard to a person’s …
Thank you, Member. The Chair recognises the Minister.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Madam Chairman. The amendment is being moved to remove the words “cri minal record” from [ clause] 3(b) and 3(c) of the Bill because the motion will avoid unforeseen consequences with regard to a person’s criminal r ecord. The Honourable Member may recall during our debate that we previously had that there were some concerns t hat people with a criminal record could be discriminated against in applying for certain job pos itions.
Bermuda House of Assembly So after further review, it was decided that we would bring forward this motion to basically avoid those types of unforeseen circumstances.
The Chairm an: Thank you. Are there any other Members who would like to speak to the amendment that is before us? There are no other Member who would like to speak to the amendment. Minister. Ah, the Chair recognises the Attorney General.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the concerns were raised when this matter was debated, and the House remembers on both sides of the House the Honourable and Learned Member Kim Wilson had raised concerns, as well as myself, that there are genuine reasons for referring to p eople’s criminal r ecord. For example, in a court case, at the end of the court case, if the person is convicted, possibly the judge will ask the prosecutor, Does this person have any previous convictions? We do not want the pros ecutor to say, Well, I can’ t tell you because it is against the Human Rights Act. In addition, obviously, where there are jobs involving children, you do not want paedophiles being hired for summer camps or in jobs involving children, so you would want to know if people are sex offenders. So there are genuine reasons. And that co ncern was raised on both sides of the House. So that is the reason. What we intend to do is review the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, which is somewhat out of date, and address the matter in that way. Thank you,
Madam Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any other Members who would like to speak to the amendment? The Chair recognises the Member from constituency 18.
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, and I thank the Honourable Attorney General for his statement, and also the Minister. I just think it is important, of course, for our listening audience and especially our students who are here today to actually understand exactly what it is we are amending and the …
Thank you very much, and I thank the Honourable Attorney General for his statement, and also the Minister. I just think it is important, of course, for our listening audience and especially our students who are here today to actually understand exactly what it is we are amending and the reasons for the amendment. So I thank the Government for their position, and there will be no objection from our side.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Member. The Chair recognises the Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Madam Chairman To the Honourable, the President —
The ChairmanChairmanMember, at this point in time we are going to vote to approve the amendment. And then it will be sent to the other place. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that the amendment be approved as printed. Are there any object ions to that motion? No objections . Agreed to. [Gavel] [Motion carried: The Human Rights Amendment (No. 2) ACT 2016, was considered by a C ommittee of the whole House and passed as amended in …
It has been moved that the amendment be approved as printed. Are there any object ions to that motion? No objections . Agreed to.
[Gavel]
[Motion carried: The Human Rights Amendment (No. 2) ACT 2016, was considered by a C ommittee of the whole House and passed as amended in the Se nate]
The Clerk: He has to read his message. You are going to move a message to go back to the Senate, because we have to send a letter back to the Senate concurring with the agreement to the amendment.
MESSAGE TO THE SENATE
HUMAN RIGHTS AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2016
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you. O kay. “To the Honourable, the President and Members of the Senate: “The House of Assembly returns to your Honourable House the Bill entitled the Human Rights Amendment (No. 2) Act 2016, and informs your Ho nourable House that the House of Assembly has amended the said Bill as suggested by your Honourable House. ”
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Member. House resumed at 10:17 am [Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair] REPORT OF COMMITTEE HUMAN RIGHTS AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2016
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right . Thank you, Honourable Members. The amendment has been approved, and also it has been approved that a message be sent to the Senate with regard to the approval of the amendment. Any objections to that? Then the message will be sent to the Pres ident of the …
All right . Thank you, Honourable Members. The amendment has been approved, and also it has been approved that a message be sent to the Senate with regard to the approval of the amendment. Any objections to that? Then the message will be sent to the Pres ident of the Senate.
2010 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly PAPERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. The Chair will first recognise the Minister for Public Works. Minister Cannonier, you have the floor. SALE AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT OF THE HARRINGTON SOUND POST OFFICE Hon. L. Cra ig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the previous Sale and Purchase Agreement of the Harrington Sound Post …
Yes. The Chair will first recognise the Minister for Public Works. Minister Cannonier, you have the floor.
SALE AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT OF THE HARRINGTON SOUND POST OFFICE
Hon. L. Cra ig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that the previous Sale and Purchase Agreement of the Harrington Sound Post Office, which was tabled on the 20 th of May 2016, be rescinded. And, Mr. Speaker, I now move that under the provision of Standing Order 22, a Revised Sale and Purchase Agreement of Harrington Sound Post Office be tabled for the consideration of the House.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much, Honourable Minister. The Chair will recognise now the Honourable Minister of Finance, Minister E. T. Richards. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, good mor ning.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS (AMENDMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND BENEFITS) ORDER 2016 Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I have the honour to attach and submit for the consideration of the Honourable House of Assembly the Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Contributions and Benefits) Order 2016.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Minister. Minister Richards, I think you have a another one. ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE C ONTRIBUTORY PENSION FUND OF BERMUDA AS OF A UGUST 1ST, 2014 Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit …
All right. Thank you, Minister. Minister Richards, I think you have a another one.
ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE C ONTRIBUTORY PENSION FUND OF BERMUDA AS OF A UGUST 1ST, 2014
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Actuarial Review of the Con tributory Pension Fund of Bermuda as of August 1st, 2014.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. PETITIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are no petitions. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. The Chair will first recognise the Minister of Finance, Minister Richards. Do Members of the House have this Stat ement? Because I do not have one yet, Minister. Will you would just hold on for a second. If we could leave that for a minute and make sure …
Thank you. The Chair will first recognise the Minister of Finance, Minister Richards. Do Members of the House have this Stat ement? Because I do not have one yet, Minister. Will you would just hold on for a second. If we could leave that for a minute and make sure that we get . . . we need these Statements to Members.
The Clerk: We did not receive any Statements, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes, yes. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Statements have been emailed to this Office, Mr. Speaker. The Clerk: We do not have the 20 copies, as r equired. Hon. E. T. ( Bob) Richards: I understand they have been delivered as well.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Just hold a second, Minister. [Pause]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Members, we should have the Statement momentarily. We did receive a report. So if you will please bear with us . [Pause]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Honourable Members, we will go to the next Statement. It seems like there is a challenge now with the copying machine. And so, we will move on to the second Statement. And just so Members know, we did receive the actual report , but we did not receive the …
Yes. Honourable Members, we will go to the next Statement. It seems like there is a challenge now with the copying machine. And so, we will move on to the second Statement. And just so Members know, we did receive the actual report , but we did not receive the Statement. We will have it soon, and then Minister Richards will give his Statement. So we will move now to the next Statement, which is by the Minister for Education. Minister Wayne Scott, you have the floor.
Hon. R. Wayne S cott: Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT UPDATE Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Mr. Speaker, parental i nvolvement in our children’s education is without doubt a key contributing element to the quality of our educ ation system. Whether it takes the form of setting high expectations, reading to kids, providing support to Bermuda House …
Good morning.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT UPDATE Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Mr. Speaker, parental i nvolvement in our children’s education is without doubt a key contributing element to the quality of our educ ation system. Whether it takes the form of setting high expectations, reading to kids, providing support to
Bermuda House of Assembly their schools, or advocating for positive change, we value parents and recognise the importance of their involvement. We know that parental involvement makes a difference in improving our children’s achievement, bettering our schools and strengthening our ent ire public education system. I therefore believe that it is in Bermuda’s best interests to promote and support parental involvement. The path, however, has not been easy, with intervening events and changes of course that have taken place along the way. In 2012 a landmark Supreme Court ruling was made, the “Ming Decision ,” which focused on parental involvement. It required the Department of Education to consult with PTAs [Parent Teacher Associations] of maintained schools before teachers or principals could be transferred. It also had broader implications and left a number of questions open about the role of PTAs in school governance, and raised concerns about the possibility of having to treat PTAs as boards of governors. After a great deal of review and reflection, our main take- away from the Ming Decision was that the Ministry and Department of Education needed to f inally resolve the question of what parental involv ement should look like for our public education system. For too long, this had been an una nswered question which has led to a great deal of uncertainty and frustration on the part of many parents, principals, teac hers, and department staff. Resolving this question was no easy feat. Our system is comprehensive and as diverse as Bermuda itself. There is no one way for parents to be involved. There was no consensus on what parental involv ement should look like or what course it should take. And although our focus was on parental involvement, we also had to consider the valuable input of educ ators and support staff who are responsible for invol ving parents on a daily basis. The Ministry consulted broadly so that our stakeholders —parents, principals, teachers, and other school staff, as well as community organisations and members —had significant input into addressing this question. We listened and listened and listened. This is evident from some of the changes in [our] course that were taken and by the legislative framework that was created. Again, there was no consensus, but the eventual changes str uck a balance between the broad aspirations of many parents for improved access, i nfluence, and communication; the views of staff; and the practicalities of running a complex public educ ation system. Mr. Speaker, in March 2015, Parliament changed the Educ ation Act 1996 to introduce a framework for parental involvement. It is no secret that these changes were, in part, a response to the Ming Decision, but more than that, the framework was designed to provide a strong foundation for ongoing i mprovements to parental involvement. The legislative framework introduced three pillars to support parental involvement, those being: 1. the introduction of parent councils for mai ntained primary and middle schools; 2. the establishment of a parental involvement committee for the Bermuda Public School System; and 3. the development of a parental involvement strategy for the Bermuda Public School Sy stem. The changes to the Education Act also r emoved in legislation boards of governors for mai ntained preschools, primary schools, and middle schools. This change reflected the reality that, except for CedarBridge Academy, there was in fact no operating board for any maintained school. This meant that, following the removal of boards of governors for maintained schools, PTAs should not be treated as boards of governors and therefore would not have the right to be consulted on principal and teacher transfers. Mr. Speaker, I committed to legislative changes, but also to do more to grow and support i mproved parental involvement. Our introduction and support of parent councils has resulted in more opportunities for information sharing and better communic ation with parents, which has been an ongoing concern for many. This year, the Ministry: • held orientation sessions for parent council members ; • provided greater information on school bud gets and the budget process; • modernis ed and engaged parents in the school improvement process; • held an open question- and-answer session with parent councils; and • recently held an information session on the Cambri dge Curriculum and Exami nations for parent councils, in which PTA leaders were also invited and participated.
This first year for parent councils has been one of growth and learning. Parent council members, including principals, are regularly solicited for feed-back. This information will be used to strengthen our support of parent councils. Looking forward, the Parental Involvement Committee, which is a new advisory body made up of parents, will be introduced for the next school year. Its role will be to work with the Commissioner of Educ ation to improve parental involvement. It is an opport unity for parents to be represented at a system level and to show the commissioner and the broader department how to improve and sustain parental i nvolvement across all schools. Through a short selection and appointment process, parents interested in making a difference at a system level can apply to be considered. We hope to 2012 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly attract a broad cross section of applicants so that the Parental Involvement Committee is representative of the diversity of parents across the public school sy stem. As this will be the inaugural committee, the par-ents selected will have a great deal of autonomy to shape its direction. For example, some of their work will focus on what support shoul d be provided to PTAs and parent councils, and working with the Commi ssioner of Education to develop a parental involvement and community engagement strategy. The strategy will set the bar for improving parental involvement practices and lay out the depar tment and school’s commitment to engaging and i nvolving parents in their children’s education. While new for the Ministry, our approach to parental involvement reflects not only considerable feedback from our stakeholders, but is also adapted from a number of jurisdictions, like Ontario, Scotland, and others, which have taken a comprehensive approach to parental involvement. Mr. Speaker, these changes and how they are being implemented have opened up important space for growing progressive and meaningful parental i nvolvement. They have been designed to give parents more information, better communication, and more say in what their involvement should look like. I would like to thank the parents and school staff who are involved and engaged, and would like to encourage more parents to get involved to help our system in a collaborative fashion. Our efforts to i mprove the education system will only be bolstered by the heightened parental support and participation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY SPEAK ER
HOUSE VISITOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. Just before we move to the second Stat ement, I just want to recognise in the House, we have Mrs. Minnie Chambers , from Monterey, California, who is here. She is the mother -in-law of the Actin g Opposition Leader. I think she is here to …
Thank you, Honourable Minister. Just before we move to the second Stat ement, I just want to recognise in the House, we have Mrs. Minnie Chambers , from Monterey, California, who is here. She is the mother -in-law of the Actin g Opposition Leader. I think she is here to make sure that he is an appropriate son- in-law.
[Desk thumping and laughter ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will now recognise the Mini ster of Finance. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let me, before I start, apologise for the snafu here.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, sir. It is all right. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: It was certainly not my intention to waste the time of Parliament.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI appreciate it. ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE CONTRIBUTORY PENSION FUN D OF BERMUDA AS OF AUGUST 1, 2014 Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, in accordance with section 35 of the Contributory Pensions Act 1970, I am pleased to table the Contributory Pension Fund (CPF, or the Fund, as …
I appreciate it.
ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE CONTRIBUTORY PENSION FUN D OF BERMUDA AS OF AUGUST 1, 2014 Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, in accordance with section 35 of the Contributory Pensions Act 1970, I am pleased to table the Contributory Pension Fund (CPF, or the Fund, as we will refer to it) Actuarial Report as of August 1st, 2014. The main purpose of the 2014 Actuarial R eview was to consider the implications for future contr ibution rates of maintaining benefits at their present levels in real terms and to consider the long- term sustainability of the Fund. The review includes projections of contribution income and expenditure (on benefits and administration), projections of the Fund balance (allowing for an assumed rate of investment return) and projections of the number of years’ outgo secured by the Fund. Mr. Speaker, the Contributory Pension scheme plays an important role in Bermuda’s pension arrangements, providing a first tier, or basic , pension to more than 10,693 seniors and other beneficiaries, the majority of whom live in Bermuda. There are also disability pensions and non- contributory benefits. The maximum benefit is currently about $1,399.14 per month. Altogether, some 12,365 persons currently receive benefits under the Act. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform Honourable Members that the financial performance of the Fund over the three- year review period was better than expected due to higher investment returns, lower administrativ e and investment expenses, lower levels of inflation, and lower net benefit -to-contribution cash flow. Mr. Speaker, even though the actuarial review is an excellent tool in overall pension management, it is important to recognise that the financial projec tions for future years —
POINT OF ORDER Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. I —we do not have—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIt is a Ministerial Statement, Honourable Member. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, but I do not even have a copy of his S tatement.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Statements have been handed out, Honourable Member. Okay. Please, Honourable Members, make sure that MP Burgess has a Statement. That is what our hold- up was. Bermuda House of Assembly [Pause]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerCarry on, please. All right. Carry on, please. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I will start the sentence again, Mr. Speaker. Even though the actuarial review is an excellent tool in overall pension management, it is important to recognise that the financial projections for f uture years are based on …
Carry on, please. All right. Carry on, please. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I will start the sentence again, Mr. Speaker. Even though the actuarial review is an excellent tool in overall pension management, it is important to recognise that the financial projections for f uture years are based on reasonable assumptions. And they should not be taken as forecasts of outcomes. The projections should be updated at successive actuarial reviews in light of the latest information avai lable. The main findings of the actuarial review are as follows: Since the last review, the Fund’s contributor base fell by 3.0 per cent due to the downturn of the economy. Both the benefit and contribution rates r emained unchanged during the three- year review period 2012 to 2014, except that contribution rates were increased in August 2012. Based on the population projection figures, the pensioner support ratio has declined marginally since the last review. The ratio was 4.4 in 2011 versus 3.9 in 2014. The ratio is projected to decline to 1.5 over the next 50 years. The comparati ve ratio, using the actual contributors and beneficiaries of the Fund, declined by 11.8 per cent from 3.4 in 2011 to 3.0 in 2014. This was due to the decline in the number of contributors as a result of high unemployment in the 2010/11 period. Contribution income, which was $107.4 mi llion, decreased by 8 per cent, and benefit expend iture, which was $133.7 million, increased by 16 per cent over the three years since the last review. Total expenses for the three years averaged 0.52 per cent of the average Fund, down from 0.66 per cent over the previous three years. Pure administrative expenses averaged 0.24 per cent of the average Fund over the three years and were 0.19 per cent of the average Fund at the review date. As a per-centage of contribution income, total expenses have been relatively stable over the last 10 years at 7.7 per cent. The net assets of the Fund grew 18 per cent over the three years from $1,532.8 billion to $1,802.3 billion. This was 2.9 per cent above the projected value from the previous r eview. The Fund earned a nominal rate of return of 7.2 per cent per annum and a real rate of return of 5.0 per cent per annum over the three years since the last review (6.6 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively, if investment and administrative expenses were excluded). This compares with the real rate of return assumption of 3.5 per cent per annum. The asset -to-expenditure ratio is a static measure of the size of the Fund to annual expenditure, or the number of years’ cover provided by the Fund, based on the current annual expenditure. This ratio increased over the three- year periods from 12.3 years to 12.6 years. Compared with 14 other regional social security schemes in a 2013 study, Bermuda’s ratio is better than nine of these countries, which average 7.5 years. By comparison, the ratio for the Canada Pension Plan in 2013 was 4.98 years. Mr. Speaker, the viability of the Fund in the short to medium term is good, with the Fund’s being able to cover at least 12 years of the current expend iture and being positive for the next 25 years. However, recognising the long- term challenges of the Fund, the Ministry will continue to closely monitor the performance of the Fund. It should also be noted that the funding policy for the Fund is not based on full actuarial funding, but based on sustainable funding. That is, contributions plus investment income should cover benefits and administration expenses on an annual basis, while the fund builds up sufficient reserves to cover several years of benefits and expenses to withstand future adverse circumstances. Despite the encouraging short - and medium - term outlook on the Fund, what is clearly evident from this latest review is that Bermuda, like most of the developed world, is faced with the challenges associated with th e growth of an ageing population. During the next 50 years, the number of people [who are] over pension age (65) is expected to increase from 10,484 to 17,665, an increase of 7,181, or 68 per cent. This increase in our seniors will obviously place a greater strain on the country’s pension system. Honourable Members should note that in order to improve the projected financial position of the Fund in the long term, the Ministry will carefully consider alternative scenarios included in this report. Following this review, the Ministry, in conjunction with the Pension and Benefits Working Group, will propose changes to the Fund to ensure its sustainability in the long term. Honourable Members will recall that in the 2016/17 Budget, I advised that pension benefi ts under the CPF (Contributory Pension Fund) were last i ncreased by 3.0 per cent in August 2011 and this was causing some difficulties for some of our seniors, as other expenditures have been rising. I also announced that I would consider providing an incr ease in benefits after reviewing the CPF 2014 Actuarial Report, which we are tabling today. After carefully reviewing the Contributory Pension Fund 2014 Actuary Report, I propose to i ncrease CPF benefits and contribution rates by 5 per cent and 7.5 per ce nt, respectively, effective August 2016, when benefits under the plan are traditionally amended. 2014 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Honourable Members are advised that, based on the Consumer Price Index [CPI], the cost of living has increased by 7.9 per cent since August 2011, when the las t increase was granted. Although the benefit increase does not fully cover the prevailing rate of inflation, the Government is of the view that this increase should meet the important policy objective to assist our seniors and strikes the right balance between fiscal and social responsibility. The 7.5 per cent increase in the contribution rate is based on actuarial advice and is intended to maintain the long- term viability of the Contributory Pension Fund. The current policy is to increase co ntributions by 2.5 per cent more than any benefit i ncrease awarded. The 7.5 per cent increase represents a rise in contributions of $2.40 per week payable by the employee, and an increase of $2.40 payable by the employer. The employer would be responsible for submitting the total weekly increase in contributions of $4.80 and would have the authority to deduct up to $2.40 from each employee. As at the 31 st of March 2016, the Fund had total assets of over $1.623 billion, representing approximately 11.7 times the annual value of pensions paid in the 2014/15 Fiscal Year. Honourable Members are advised that the next actuary review of the Contributory Pension Fund is scheduled for the period ending July 31 st, 2017. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I wish to assure Members, and more importantly, current and future pensioners, that the Government is sensitive to the challenges facing pension plans of this nature and will endeavour to take the appropriate steps to enhance the benefits paid from the scheme, as well as ensure that the Fund has the ongoing ab ility to pay for such benefits. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Minister of Public Works. Minister, the Honourable Craig Cannonier, you have the floor. CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you once again, Mr. Speaker. I rise this morning to advise this Honourable House and …
All right. Thank you, Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Minister of Public Works. Minister, the Honourable Craig Cannonier, you have the floor.
CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you once again, Mr. Speaker. I rise this morning to advise this Honourable House and members of the public of the Public Works Ministry’s intent to use cameras to gather phot ographic evidence in support of offences in accordance with the Waste and Litter Control Act 1987. Mr. Speaker, illegal dumping is the crime of disposing of solid wastes at locations other than those licensed to accept wastes. Illegal dumping is a blight upon our Island home, often spoiling the most out -ofthe-way places that are essential to residents and tourists alike for their solitude and natural beauty. Ill egal dumping poses significant human health, social, environmental, and economic costs, with Government spending thousands of dollars annually to remove ill egally dumped materials. The cost to clean up illegally dumped mater ials is many times the cost to correctly dispose of them. Taxpayer dollars used to clean up dump sites could be better spent on benefits and programmes that would be more widely enjoyed by our Island as a whole. Mr. Speaker, illegal dumpers do not fully rea lise the severi ty of the crimes they commit. Waste crime, as illegal dumping is becoming more commonly known, is a multi -level crime that also impacts the customers who have paid for waste removal, as well as legitimate businesses that pay waste disposal tipping fees. Those who commit waste crimes break the law to enjoy quick, easy money while disregarding the beauty of our Island home and all who live here. Mr. Speaker, the Waste and Litter Control Act 1987 was amended in 2011, providing for fines of up to $10,000 for il legal dumping, and [providing for] the use of video cameras to assist with the collection of evidence used for prosecuting those committing waste crimes. Mr. Speaker, there will always be those who seek to spoil our community through the selfish act of illegal dumping. Their behaviour necessitates enforcement of illegal dumping legislation to bring home the message that illegal dumping is an egregious di sservice to our Island home. Mr. Speaker, placement of these cameras will be undertaken by the Educati on and Enforcement O fficer, who may be assisted by other ministry emplo yees as and when needed, as well as the Bermuda Police Service. In accordance with the Act, notice of the approved recording device will be published in the Gazette for five business da ys. I will continue, Mr. Speaker, to keep this Honourable House updated on the progress that we are making to reduce and eliminate the problem of illegal dumping. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Crosstalk]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Thank you, Honourable Member. Just one small point, [do] we have the illegal dumping connected with the Waste Disposal Act? Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: The Waste and Litter Control Act.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Waste and Litter Control Act —just so we get that in our record that — [Inaudible in terjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes, yes. Thanks very much. Bermuda House of Assembly The Chair will now recognise the Minister for the Environment. The Honourable Cole Simons, you have the floor. MARITIME WASTE MANAGEMENT AND DI SPOSAL Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to …
Yes, yes, yes. Thanks very much.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chair will now recognise the Minister for the Environment. The Honourable Cole Simons, you have the floor.
MARITIME WASTE MANAGEMENT AND DI SPOSAL
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to remind boaters of their responsibility and to encourage them to abide by the waste and management laws and guidelines. Mr. Speaker, Bermuda’s [blue] ocean waters are one of the country’s most beautiful and prized assets. It is the responsibility of every citizen to care for our ocean, but today I specifi cally would like to remind boaters of their responsibility under the law with r egards to maritime waste management and disposal. Mr. Speaker, the boating public are prohibited from discharging untreated sewage into the sea within 500 metres (or 1,640 feet) of the nearest shore. The boating public should not discharge sewage into the enclosed marine areas of the Great Sound, Little Sound, Harrington Sound, or Castle Harbour, and from January 2017, discharge into these areas will also be forbidden by law. Thankfully, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, together with input from the Marine Resources Board, has deve loped new guidelines which will help to protect both the environment and the public, and preserve our pri stine environment. These guidelines appear in a wonderful brochure that is available from the department, is being distributed to marinas, and is available on the Government portal. Mr. Speaker, I have also provided each Member of Parliament a copy of this brochure, and it is currently being circulated. And I intend to also table the said brochure. Mr. Speaker, it is noted that the successful implementation of these guidelines will require the installation of shoreside pump- out facilities. Pump- out facilities are being installed at all new marinas, as conditioned via the Department of Planning process, but [the facilities] will come online only as [the new marinas] are completed. For example, Mr. Speaker, five pump- out stations for boats will be provided at South Basin in Dockyard as part of the America’s Cup development. Many more sewage pump- out stations are required across Bermuda. Here, opportunities exist for new businesses to establish shore- based or portable pump- out facilities. Mr. Speaker, the law states that “Any person who. . . pollutes or fouls any public water (including seawater), commits an offence punishable under the Water Resources Act 1975” (section 34). Mr. Speaker, it is important that the boating public ensure that these waste management guide-lines are followed and that the public remain vigilant to inappropriate activities. It is especially important to note that there is a greater health and safety risk in areas where there is a high density of boats, and a far greater risk of environmental impac t in relatively e nclosed or shallow marine areas. Mr. Speaker, sewage discharge can cause dissolved oxygen concentrations to drop, potentially leading to killed fish or fish die- offs. This is most noticeable over the hotter months. Mr. Speaker, it is very important to note that Bermuda’s beaches are monitored regularly by the Department of Health, and they are monitored to the US bathing water standards. Since 2015, Bermuda’s beaches have been given a clean bill of health. A range of improvements have occurred to waste management practices at restaurants in Hamilton, to the treatment processes of the Corporation of Hamilton and those of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital. These improvements have led to a significant de-crease in fats, and a decrease in oi ls and greases being discharged through the outfall at Hungry Bay. Mr. Speaker, it is also important to state that the boating public must take their trash home with them. Garbage receptacles near boat slips and po ntoons are not designed to receive the vo lumes of garbage generated from day trips of multiple boaters. Furthermore, placing garbage bags adjacent to receptacles is not acceptable when the trash pick -up day may be days away. Mr. Speaker, preserving our pri stine environment is key for residents and tourists. If no designated receptacles are located at the marina, then the boating public should take their trash home and segregate their trash as one would for household trash, according to the requirements of the Ministry of Public Works. Specifically , • tin, alumini um and glass (TAG) shall be placed in blue bags for recycling; • household garbage (including bilge adsorbent materials ) shall be placed in black bags for pick-up twice weekly; and • hazardous waste (such as batteries, zinc anodes, waste oils a nd paints) shall be taken to the Tynes Bay drop- off facility.
Mr. Speaker, I recommend that persons visit www.gov.bm/garbage- and-recycling for additional i nformation on waste segregation and disposal and the associated legal requirements. Mr. Speaker, it is paramount that the residents do their part in the international drive to ensure that loose plastics remain away from our ocean, where the significant environmental im pact and long- lasting effect are currently being realised. Mr. Speaker, Pr oducer Jo Ruxton is to be commended for the excellent and informative documentary presentation entitled A Plastic Ocean at the BUEI [Bermuda Underwater E xploration Institute]. The audience witnessed the i mpact of how plastic pollution is negatively impacting the environment, ecosystems, and human health. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to their boat maintenance, boaters are reminded to only use com2016 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly pliant anti -foulant paints, and to avoid using paints with additives listed in the Fisheries (Anti -fouling Paints Prohibition) Regulations 1989. Mr. Speaker, the Department of Environment and Natural R esources has worked with HMS Customs Bermuda to ensure that adsorbent materials for oils in bilg e water are set at a 0.0 per cent importation duty in order to encourage their use and to help protect the environ-ment. Boat owners are further reminded to ensure that their bilges are maintained and kept free of oily wastes that could be discharged into t he ocean. The placement of fixed oil adsorbents into the bilges would minimise the risk of oil being discharged by a bilge pump. Mr. Speaker, the public is reminded that if they notice oil pollution or contamination of the se awater, they may report it to Bermuda Radio at 2971010. This is a 24- hour service. Mr. Speaker, together we can keep Bermuda’s waters beautiful, clean and safe to enjoy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Honourab le Minister of Social Development and Sports. Minister Sylvan Richards, you have the floor. BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016 Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Honourable Members of this House and people of Bermuda, I am …
All right. Thank you, Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Honourab le Minister of Social Development and Sports. Minister Sylvan Richards, you have the floor.
BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Honourable Members of this House and people of Bermuda, I am pleased to share with my fellow Bermudians and residents the name of Bermuda’s newest National Hero —the Honourable Sir John W. Swan, KBE, JP . This title of distinction will be co nferred upon Sir John during an induction ceremony scheduled to take place on Sunday, the 19th of June 2016 at 4:00 pm on the grounds of Camden. Mr. Speaker, Sir John’s contributions have significantly shaped Bermuda and her development, and his impact has been of such a magnitude that it is still being felt to this day. He has been recognised not only in the local business arena, but internationally as well. His is a household name that is familiar through-out all of B ermuda. Mr. Speaker, most people know of Sir John as a real estate developer and a political giant, since he remains the longest -serving Premier of Bermuda. Sir John is also a philanthropist and well -respected bus inessman. His business career in real estate began in 1962 when he founded the John W. Swan Agency. Through this business venture, Sir John was able to help many Bermudians own their own homes because his company developed and built so many houses. Some of his other noteworthy accomplishments i nclude his becoming a founding member of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Director of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, and the Director of the Bermuda Employers Council. Mr. Speaker, Sir John’s political career began in 1972, and it spanned 25 years of activ e, energetic, and relentless service to the people of Bermuda. He demonstrated tremendous political prowess during his tenure, holding many portfolios including Minister of Marine and Air Services from 1975 to 1976, and Mi nister of Immigration and Labour f rom 1976 to 1982. Sir John became Premier of Bermuda in 1982 and served in this capacity for 13.5 years. A most significant milestone was achieved in 1986 when the negotiations of the United States/Bermuda Tax Convention, led by Sir John, were completed. This agreement contributed to continuing the development of the local insurance and reinsurance industries while further establishing the Island as a major offshore financial centre and strengthening the Island's economy. Mr. Speaker, Bermuda’s newest National Hero has been recognised by numerous organisations over many years for his stellar service to his country and community. In 1969 he was named Outstanding Man of the Year by the Bermuda Jaycees. In 1985 he was admitted to the Freedom of the City of London, England, and [made an] Honorary Member of Hami lton Rotary Club Bermuda. In 1986 Sir John was awarded the International Medal of Distinction from the International Association of Lions Clubs, in recognition of his humanitarian endeavours. Sir John was the first recipient of a new international award, the International Medal of Excellence, from the Poor Richard Club of Philadelphia, the oldest press and advertising club in Philadelphia. Mr. Speaker, in 1990 Her Majesty the Queen appointed Sir John a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, hence the letters KBE that follow his name. In more recent years, Sir John has had other titles bestowed upon him. In 2002 St. Paul’s AME Church conferred the Outstanding Service Award to Sir John. In 20 10 he was inducted into the Bermuda Business Hall of Fame, and was one of the first four recipients of this new and prestigious award. In addition, he has been awarded several honorary doctorates including an Honorary Doctorate from West Virginia Wesleyan College; an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Atlantic Union College; an Honorary Doctorate of Law from University of Tampa, Florida; and an Honorary Doctorate, Humane Letters, from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Speaker, notwithstanding all of the recognitions and awards that have been conferred upon him and his accomplishments in politics and business, Sir John has not lost his common touch. You can still see him interacting with people of all walks of life on the streets of Hamilton and up and down Bermuda. He is also well known for his warm and friendly wave and his very engaging smile. His friendliness, humility,
Bermuda House of Assembly and concern for others are very much a part of who he is. Mr. Speaker, Sir John’s contributions are le gendary, and he embodies m any of the criteria that had been established under the National Heroes Guidelines: Criteria and Selection Process to help determine national heroes. According to these guidelines, Mr. Speaker, individuals (or groups) must meet most of the follo wing crit eria: • The person must have made a significant and lasting contribution to Bermuda; • The person has enriched the lives of others; • The person’s legacy will stand the test of time and will have continued relevance in the f uture; • The person has contributed to t he quality of life and destiny of Bermuda; • The person is considered outstanding in his or her area of activity; • The person has ready name recognition among the general public; • The person is recognised by his or her pr ofession; and • The person is reflective of Bermuda’s cultural heritage and diversity.
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that the Honourable Sir John Swan KBE, JP, meets most, if not all, of the aforementioned criteria. The nature of a person’s contribution to the development of society is the benchmark against which persons ought to be s elected. Bermuda has many persons of whom we can be and are justly proud and for whom recognition is due. Sir John’s significant contributions in the bus iness arena and the world of politics make him most worthy of the designation of National Hero. Mr. Speaker, I invite everyone to join us on Sunday, the 19 th of June 2016, at 4:00 pm on the grounds of Camden when we induct Bermuda’s ne west national hero—the Honourable Sir John W. Swan KBE, JP. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. QUESTION PERIOD WRITTEN ANSWERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Members, we are now in Question Period. On the Order Paper, the first question from Mr. E. T . Richards was to provide written responses to questions from Mr. D. V. Burgess. Mr. D. V. Burgess, you should have those a nswers. QUESTION —PAYROLL TAX AREARS 1) Will the …
Honourable Members, we are now in Question Period. On the Order Paper, the first question from Mr. E. T . Richards was to provide written responses to questions from Mr. D. V. Burgess. Mr. D. V. Burgess, you should have those a nswers.
QUESTION —PAYROLL TAX AREARS
1) Will the Honourable Minister please inform this Honourable House how many employers who receiv ed payroll tax exemptions are presently in arrears regarding payroll tax, s ocial insurance deductions/contributions and the amounts outstanding and payable to Government on behalf of their employees as at April 1 2013 – March 31, 2014; April 1, 2014 – Marc h 31, 2015; April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAlso, the Premier, M. H. Dunkley, was to provide written responses to questions from MP Roban. You should have those, yes. QUESTION —POLICE PROTECTION AT CITY HALL 18 May 2016 1) Will the Honourable Minister please i nform this Honourable House from where did the request come for additional police …
Also, the Premier, M. H. Dunkley, was to provide written responses to questions from MP Roban. You should have those, yes.
QUESTION —POLICE PROTECTION AT CITY HALL 18 May 2016
1) Will the Honourable Minister please i nform this Honourable House from where did the request come for additional police protection and presence at the City Hall on Wednesday 18 th May 2016 during a meeting held in the National Gallery which started at 5:30pm?
2) Will the Honour able Minister please i nform this Honourable House how many officers, both uniformed and plain- clothed were provided by the Bermuda Police Service at the City Hall on Wednesday 18 th May 2016 during this meeting held in the National Gallery?
3) Will the Honourable Minister please i nform this Honourable House what was the cost of providing police protection, as d escribed in question 2, at the City Hall on Wednesday 18th May 2016?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe now move on. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 18. MP David Burt, you have the floor. QUESTION 1 —LETTER OF ENTRUSTMENT DATED JULY 17 2015
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. 2018 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, my first question is regarding the following passage from the Letter of Entrustment dated July 17, 2015, [(6b)] that the United Kingdom Government and the Government of Bermuda must agree on …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. 2018 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, my first question is regarding the following passage from the Letter of Entrustment dated July 17, 2015, [(6b)] that the United Kingdom Government and the Government of Bermuda must agree on what measures are required to address the deficiencies that are identified by Deloitte in their as-sessment report(s). The question is, Will the Honourable Minister please inform this Honourable House if the Bermuda Government and the UK Government have come to an agreement on “what measures are required to ad-dress the deficiencies” and if so, will he make a statement and share the measures with this Honourable House?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: The answer, Mr. Speaker, is yes and yes.
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, I thank the Minister for his answer. And I guess I will ask the question as to when he will make the Statement, as the question was asked and there was no Statement given during [Ministerial Statements] today.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Minister. When will you give the Statement?
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, the question that was asked is if the Honourable Minister would —
Mr. E. David Burt—give a Statement. And the Mini ster answered yes and yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd you are asking, when will he?
Mr. E. David BurtAnd the supplementary questi on is, When will the Minister make a statement, as he did not make a statement during Ministerial Statements today, as was requested?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, I intend to provide the answer to the actual things that the Honourable Member is asking for. I do not intend to make a formal statement to something that is superfluous. The next question is, you know, when will I do it? …
Minister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, I intend to provide the answer to the actual things that the Honourable Member is asking for. I do not intend to make a formal statement to something that is superfluous. The next question is, you know, when will I do it? And I am quite happy to answer that. But I am not going to make another Ministerial Statement on this matter, because I have given the answer that we are going to do it. We have agreed, I am going to publish it, and when we publish it, certainly I might consider giving a Ministerial Statement at that time. But that is the situation.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right, Minister. Yes, MP Burt.
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, the Honourable Mi nister is clearly confusing the two questions —and they are two separate questions. The first question asks if the Government has agreed on . . . the Bermuda Government and the UK Government have agreed on the deficiencies. The Honourable Minister has said that they …
Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Mi nister is clearly confusing the two questions —and they are two separate questions. The first question asks if the Government has agreed on . . . the Bermuda Government and the UK Government have agreed on the deficiencies. The Honourable Minister has said that they have agreed on the deficiencies, and therefore it is a matter that is under his knowledge, which he should provide to this House under oversight. He said, Yes, they have. I am asking when he will give it. I am not asking about the evidence- based assessment that is in Question 2. They are two separate things under the Letter of E ntrustment. Will the Minister please provide this House with what measures have been agreed to be ad-dressed between the Bermuda Government and UK Government? As the Minister has said they have agreed, when will the Minister provide a Statement on those matters to this House, as they are matters that are under his official knowledge and are subject to the oversight powers of Parliament?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I did not confuse the i ssue, Mr. Speaker. I said that I would provide that i nformation. And when I provide that information, I will make a Statement to the House to that effect. The Honourable Member wants to know when. Well, when …
Minister.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I did not confuse the i ssue, Mr. Speaker. I said that I would provide that i nformation. And when I provide that information, I will make a Statement to the House to that effect. The Honourable Member wants to know when. Well, when we do it, it [will be] as soon as possible. But [when] the information is available, there is no reason to not give it. And I will give it in due course.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. MP Burt.
Mr. E. David BurtBecause it just seems as though oversight powers mean nothing to the Government. And it seems as though—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, no speeches. Bermuda House of Assembly
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, it is fine. We will go through the process. But I think that it is a shame, Mr. Speaker, that in Parliament we do not get questi ons answered.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo. Honourable Member, let us stick to the— QUESTION 2 —LETTER OF ENTRUSTMENT DATED JULY 17 2015
Mr. E. David BurtI will move on, Mr. Speaker. Regarding the following passage from the Letter of Entrustment dated 17 July 2015, [(6c)]; that the Government of Bermuda must publish a written and evidence- based assurance that the required measures have been taken, before the Contract can be concluded; will the Honourable Minister …
I will move on, Mr. Speaker. Regarding the following passage from the Letter of Entrustment dated 17 July 2015, [(6c)]; that the Government of Bermuda must publish a written and evidence- based assurance that the required measures have been taken, before the Contract can be concluded; will the Honourable Minister please i nform this Honourable House when is it expec ted that the “written and evidence -based assurance” will be published?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, that report will be published when it is available. And it is in process now. And when it is completed, it will be publi shed and reported to this House.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Thank you, MP Burt. The Chair will now move to MP M. A. Weeks, from constituency 16. MP Weeks, you have the floor.
Mr. Michael A. WeeksThank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. The S peaker: Good morning. QUESTION 1 —DISTRICT HEALTH NURSES
Mr. Michael A. WeeksMr. Speaker, w ould the Honourable Minister please advise this Honourable House the total approved posts and number of district health nurses, and how many of those positions ar e currently filled?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, there are six district nurse posts approved, four are currently filled; two are under active recruitment.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. MP Weeks.
Mr. Michael A. WeeksIf the Minister will . . . can you repeat that for me before I ask a supplementary? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: There are six district nurse posts approved. Four are currently filled. Two are under active recruitment.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. MP Weeks.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, sir. QUESTION 1 —APPROVED DENTISTS IN D EPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Mr. Michael A. WeeksWould the Honourable Mini ster please inform this Honourable House of the total number of approved dentists in the Department of Health, and how many of those positions are currently filled?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: There are three dentists approved, of which two are currently filled with temporary reliefs while the posts are under recruitment. And one is the senior dental officer.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. You have a supplementary, MP Burt?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes, okay. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, is the Honourable Minister aware of the backlog and delay for members of the public receiving medical care at the dental clinic?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou are asking . . . yes, right.
Mr. E. David BurtIs the Honourable Minister aware of the delays that are being experienced by members of the public who are seeking to have dental assi stance and the lack of dentists available who are able to fill this [need]?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, I am aware, and I am not able to put my hand on the Statement 2020 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly that I brought to this House to remind members of the public and this House that there …
Minister.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, I am aware, and I am not able to put my hand on the Statement 2020 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly that I brought to this House to remind members of the public and this House that there were delays and to indicate to the public that, while we are recruiting and trying to get those indivi dual positions filled, we e ncouraged those who had dental insurance to utilise the services of their dentists in the private sector.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. MP Burt, your second supplementary? Yes, the Chair will recognise now the Learned Member from constituency 34, MP Kim Wilson.
Ms. Kim N. WilsonDoes the Honourable Minister recognise that those persons who do not have dental insurance or private ins urance, who rely heavily on the Dental Insurance Plan, are incurring further finan-cial burdens as a result of having to pay for services out-of-pocket that would otherwise be available, had a full complement …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, I understood what the Honourable Member said. And I think I also tried to indicate to the public before that, with respect to the dental services that are there, (1) we are filling [positions] with temporary people because we recognise that it does …
Minister.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, I understood what the Honourable Member said. And I think I also tried to indicate to the public before that, with respect to the dental services that are there, (1) we are filling [positions] with temporary people because we recognise that it does create a problem; but also, (2) any persons who have what I call dental issues are being given priority because we recognise that having dental services is very important.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. MP Wilson, an other supplementary?
Ms. Kim N. WilsonSupplementary, yes. With r espect to the dental priority, is the Minister aware that persons who are transferring from preschool to pr imary school are required to have mandatory dental examinations, and that that has not been deemed as a priority to date [because of] the shortages?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I am not able to confirm that that has not been determined as a priority. I did understand that that was something that was being put into the schedule. And I will just try and get an i ndication [from] the statement that this was …
Minister.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I am not able to confirm that that has not been determined as a priority. I did understand that that was something that was being put into the schedule. And I will just try and get an i ndication [from] the statement that this was not deemed to be a priority. Because I am not aware that that is a statement of fact.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. The Chair will recognise MP Burt again. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, a supplementary question. On the answer the Minister provided where she said . . . I believe she said there were two posts or three posts that were approved —
Mr. E. David BurtDoes that include any positions which may have been frozen? I just want to know if this is the total number of positions that she has listed, or just the total number that are able to be filled? I want to make sure that the Minister is providing a complete …
Does that include any positions which may have been frozen? I just want to know if this is the total number of positions that she has listed, or just the total number that are able to be filled? I want to make sure that the Minister is providing a complete and accurate number. Because the number itself seems low, especially . . . and [it seems] confusing that there would be so many delays if the roles are being filled on a temporary basis, as they are right now. So, is that just all the positions that are a pproved? Does that include frozen positions? Or are there frozen positions that are not included in that number?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Minister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: That includes the a pproved positions. It does not include any frozen pos itions.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Yes, MP Wilson, I am sorry. You have had your supplementaries. The Chair will recognise MP Weeks. SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mr. Michael A. WeeksThank you, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, can the Minister inform us how many positions have been frozen? That is one supplementary, and I have one after.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Minister? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: There is one position that has been frozen.
Mr. Michael A. WeeksWhile we are undergoing our delay in hiring other dentists, we know there is a popu lation that is underemployed, and some— Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: I am sorry. Do you mind starting that again?
Mr. Michael A. WeeksWe understand that there is a delay in hiring additional dentists. While this delay is taking place, we recognise that there is an underi nsured and uninsured population. Are those [people] also being looked at? Are they on the list being urged to go to private practice?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: As I indicated earlier, those persons who are not insured and have needs are being prioritised. Because we are trying to prior itise it on the basis of persons who have dental issues, as opposed to whether they have insurance or not.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Thank you. MP Burt, I am sorry you have had your two —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThis would have to be answered or asked in a supplementary, a follow -up to the ques tion, if it was not clear, not in a speech like this. If a Member has another supplementary, then you can ask it, and hurry up.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes, yes. SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Lovitta F. FoggoHow many positions are there that are frozen in the first question? How many pos itions are frozen with respect to the first question?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI think that is what the Honourable Member —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Minister, then go ahead. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: When we say the first question, am I clear this is with respect to the district nurses?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Correct. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: There are no frozen pos itions.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Minister. Okay. Thank you, Members. So we will move to the Honourable Member from constituency 35, MP D. P. Lister. QUESTION 1 —GOVERNMENT OWNED PROPE RTIES FOR PUBLIC SALE Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have three things. …
All right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Minister. Okay. Thank you, Members. So we will move to the Honourable Member from constituency 35, MP D. P. Lister.
QUESTION 1 —GOVERNMENT OWNED PROPE RTIES FOR PUBLIC SALE
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have three things. (It sounds like it is coming through clear.) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The questions this morning are for the Ho nourable Minister for Works, Honourable Minister Ca nnonier. Question 1, Mr. Speaker, Would the H onourable Minister please inform this Honourable House as to the total number of Government -owned properties that Government is considering offering to the public for sale?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are c onsidering eight, which includes the Harrington Sound Post Office.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. 2022 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Minister, would you consider . . . in light of the fact that we have had discussions and the indication was that the list of properties would be shared before we got to the point of debating, are you still of the mind set …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. C raig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly. The unique position that we are in is that the Harrington Sound is a pilot project. So the other properties —we intend to list those properties so that everyone would be aware. But we are still going through the …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Yes, MP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Second supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: The Minister sort of r esponded to part of what my next question was going to be. My question basic ally was going to be, In light of the fact that the indication always was that the list was going to be shared, what made …
Yes. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: The Minister sort of r esponded to part of what my next question was going to be. My question basic ally was going to be, In light of the fact that the indication always was that the list was going to be shared, what made this property more significant that is being done outside of that list that would have been shared?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. C raig Cannonier: I am assuming the Honourable Member is talking about Harrington Sound when you said “ this property ”?
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersYes, Harrington Sound.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes, certainly, Mr. Speaker. For some time, we [hav e been] in a unique position whereby we have in excess of 800 properties that our Government is responsible for, in fact 800 to about 1,000 if you include quangos and the likes. So going through …
Yes.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes, certainly, Mr. Speaker. For some time, we [hav e been] in a unique position whereby we have in excess of 800 properties that our Government is responsible for, in fact 800 to about 1,000 if you include quangos and the likes. So going through the asset management plan, it was thought that we would seek out a pilot testing first. And Harrington Sound came out on top as one of those properties that would be easily put on the market, going through the criteria, and that this would be a pilot testing of how we move forward. Because we have not seen the sale of a government property for more than, I think . . .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you. MP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Question 2.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 1 —GOVERNMENT OWNED PROPE RTIES FOR PUBLIC SALE Hon. D ennis P. Lister: Would the Honourable Mini ster please disclose to this Honourable House the process by which a property is selected for consider ation to be sold?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The asset management plan developed follows best practice and, in particular, best practice of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. So profes-sional services have been diligent in going through this here. We have primarily six criteria that require a lot …
Minister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. The asset management plan developed follows best practice and, in particular, best practice of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. So profes-sional services have been diligent in going through this here. We have primarily six criteria that require a lot of answer ing and going throughout all of the mini stries and departments. And those six criteria are: 1. What property assets do we own? 2. What do we need today to provide gover nment services? 3. Are the assets managed and used efficiently, and are they cost -effective? 4. What will we need in the future? 5. What properties do not meet current and f uture needs 5 years down the road, 10 years down the road, 15 years down the road, and therefore are surplus to requirements and can be considered for disposal? 6. And then the last questio n, What shortfall do we have on real estate and potentially need to acquire? That means the rent or purchase of properties.
So all of these are used to help us to determine.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. MP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Minister, in the response to the earlier question, the answer was that there were eight properties on the list. In responding to the sec-ond question, there was an indication that the plan Bermuda House of Assembly has not been completed and there are likely …
Yes.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Minister, in the response to the earlier question, the answer was that there were eight properties on the list. In responding to the sec-ond question, there was an indication that the plan
Bermuda House of Assembly has not been completed and there are likely to be further properties added to that list. Is it accurate that we will see more properties? Or is eight the total number?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: We set out the criteria for this fiscal period, this fiscal year, eight properties. That is the intent. Again, we are still going through the process. It may wind up being that it is only six that we do or five that we do. But …
Minister.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: We set out the criteria for this fiscal period, this fiscal year, eight properties. That is the intent. Again, we are still going through the process. It may wind up being that it is only six that we do or five that we do. But the intent at this point is, we have identified eight properties, but we are still going through the process of determining what is best. And if I can give an example of that, some properties may fall within some of our parklands. So that brings up other questions as to the legalities around their being on park property and what comes with that —access rights and the like. So we are still working through that process.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Minister. MP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Minis ter, in light of your comments, does the list include just buildings, or is open space included as well? Meaning, if there is a property that is open space adjoining to a property that could be better used in the private sector, is that …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes. At present, the eight fall under, they are actual buildings. But that does not exclude the fact that land could be included in that, as well. We have several pieces of land that we are consider ing.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Yes, the Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency [6]. MP Furbert, yes. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. A supplementary. Would the Minister agree that no government property should be sold that is on parkland? Would the Minister agree with that?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: It is a consideration. Again, we are considering it. There are challenges that come along with that. But that is a consideration that does bring up potential challenges. But I would not rule it out.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Thank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 24, MP Lawrence Scott.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottWould the Minister not classify or categorise this as a transfer of wealth from Government properties to the private entity?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: I am not sure how we want to define “ wealth .” But certainly, we are giving private enterprise, Bermudians, opportunity. [Inaudible interjections ]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNot Bermudians. Do not see it happening. Do not see it happening.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. All right. Thank you, Ho nourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable and Learned Member from constituency 34. SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Kim N. WilsonThank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister confirm that, bearing in mind the limited resources that Bermuda has in open spaces and parkland, it w ould be a serious precedent and a dangerous precedent to be set for the Gover nment to actually consider selling off some of our li …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have not s aid that we are going to [this]. We understand that there are complications with parkland properties. And so, as we move through the process, we have already identified that there are challenges within parklands with properties being …
Minister.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have not s aid that we are going to [this]. We understand that there are complications with parkland properties. And so, as we move through the process, we have already identified that there are challenges within parklands with properties being there. So I am well aw are of the concern that you have. We are aware of that concern. Right now, all I am saying is that we are going through the process, and we are considering all pro perties that we do have.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 17, MP Walton Brown. 2024 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly
Mr. Walton BrownMr. Speaker, would the Honourable Minister not agree that, for the sake of, the preservation of our limited natur al resources and for the sake of our future generations, that this Government should take as a principled position that no public lands, no public parks should by any stretch of …
Mr. Speaker, would the Honourable Minister not agree that, for the sake of, the preservation of our limited natur al resources and for the sake of our future generations, that this Government should take as a principled position that no public lands, no public parks should by any stretch of the imagination even be contemplated for privatisation or for sale, and that t he Minister will take any such park or portion of a park off that list?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will take that under advisement. At this pr esent time, there are no properties that we are consi dering that fall within parklands.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. MP Walton Brown.
Mr. Walton BrownI must have misheard, but, Mr. Speaker, will the Minister be prepared to make a statement at some point indicating quite categorically that no parkland will be contemplated for any kind of sale to the private sector?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Upon that determination, yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. The Chair will recognise the MP Dennis Lister again. Hon. Dennis P. Li ster: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, the third question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Recogni sing that nonBermudian residents with connections outside of Bermuda would have access to a significant amount of funding options to own propert ies versus that of Bermudians and Bermuda- based business es, will the Honourable Minister please confirm to this Honourable House that Government …
Yes.
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Recogni sing that nonBermudian residents with connections outside of Bermuda would have access to a significant amount of funding options to own propert ies versus that of Bermudians and Bermuda- based business es, will the Honourable Minister please confirm to this Honourable House that Government recogni ses the disadvantages that this access places on Bermudians ? And what policies are in place to ensure Bermudians can become potential buyers with the ultimate aim of ow ning these Government properties?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Minister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I share in that concern as well. So I understand exactly where the Honourable Member is c oming from. Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration and Pr otection Act 1956 contains provisions aimed at protec ting land in Bermuda for …
Yes, Minister.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I share in that concern as well. So I understand exactly where the Honourable Member is c oming from. Part VI of the Bermuda Immigration and Pr otection Act 1956 contains provisions aimed at protec ting land in Bermuda for Bermudians. These properties are not exempted from that legislation. We are not seeking to sell any of these properties to no nBermudians.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Minister. Yes, MP Burgess. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, the ques tion was, what policy? Is the Government contemplating putting a policy in place where Bermudians can afford to buy this land? Because what is in place now is a licence. That is …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You know, none of these properties fall within that ARV level. All these properties fall withi n the guidelines to be sold to Bermudians, not nonBermudians. So there is no intent to be selling properties to non- Bermudians.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, Minister. All right. We now move to the Ministerial Statements. The first Statement was the Statement by Minister Wayne Scott. And we have the Honourable Whip, MP Foggo, the Shadow Minister of Education, who has a question for the Minister.
Ms. Lovitta F. FoggoYes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I really just have one question , because the Minister has spoken on these issues at least on two previous occasions.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 1: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT UPDATE
Ms. Lovitta F. FoggoBut what I would like the Mini ster, I guess, to clarify to this House and to the people of Bermuda is how the Ministry delineates the roles between the councils and the PTAs, especially since the PTAs had options to serve as councils? And no one, I think, really …
But what I would like the Mini ster, I guess, to clarify to this House and to the people of Bermuda is how the Ministry delineates the roles between the councils and the PTAs, especially since the PTAs had options to serve as councils? And no one, I think, really knows what the councils or the PTAs are now tasked with doing.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that is a good question. I actually thank you for bringing that up. We have actually talked some about that here. So with the parent councils, right, I think what we were actually mandated to …
Minister.
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. And that is a good question. I actually thank you for bringing that up. We have actually talked some about that here. So with the parent councils, right, I think what we were actually mandated to do is to have a formal mechanism in place for two- way communic ation, formal communication. And that is actually part of the legislation that we passed last year. So, you have to have something in legislation to formally have a process for parental involvement. It is a challenge to do with the PTA. A PTA could be a charity. There are PTAs that want to be involved, there are some PTAs in schools that want to just help fundraise and do a bake sale. And I say that kind of tongue- in-cheek just to make a point. So, you cannot legislate a charity to do som ething. And if you then put a legislative entity in place, they cannot actually be a charity and a fundraiser. So you want to do it in two separate pieces. Now, in some cases, you have had PTAs that have involved, have chosen to become a parent council. Or there is a crossover between the same people. So we understand that it is a little bit odd. We had that discussion when we actually went through the legislation last year, if you remember, Mr. Speaker. But the ch allenge really comes down to having to legislatively put in place a mechanism for parental involvement, and you cannot do that with a charitable entity.
Ms. Lovitta F. FoggoBut I am not sure if the Mini ster has answered the question. Because I did not hear the answer. I would like to know wh at the demarcations are, the demarcation lines are between the councils and the PTAs. And I am not sure, because . . . I …
But I am not sure if the Mini ster has answered the question. Because I did not hear the answer. I would like to know wh at the demarcations are, the demarcation lines are between the councils and the PTAs. And I am not sure, because . . . I am not sure if I have heard that answer. What is the essential difference?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Minister. Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Mr. Speaker, this may help. And certainly, we recognise that that is a question that comes up regularly. We are actually working on pu tting together kind of workflow documents that we will make public, that outline those differences and the different things …
All right. Minister.
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Mr. Speaker, this may help. And certainly, we recognise that that is a question that comes up regularly. We are actually working on pu tting together kind of workflow documents that we will make public, that outline those differences and the different things t hat you need to do. So, stay tuned, Members. That will actually be presented forthwith. And I would actually . . . well, soon, I should say. And I would actually put out an olive branch to, Let’s work together on this proactively before it’s act ually publ ished. I have no problem with letting you look through some of these workflows, once we have them in place. And I would ask the Member to let us sit down and go through that and work collaboratively so that we can avoid some of the after -the-fact concerns and disagreements that we may have, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Minister. All right, MP? We now move to the second Statement, which was with reference to the Pensions Fund, by the Minister of Finance. The Chair will recognise the Shadow Minister, David Burt, from constituency 18. QUESTION 1: ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE CO NTRIBUTORY PENSION FUND …
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my first question is regarding where, on page 3 of the Finance Minister’s Statement, the Minister said, “ The comparative ratio using the actual contributors and beneficiaries of the Fund de-clined by 11.8% from 3.4 in 2011 to 3.0 in 2014. This …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my first question is regarding where, on page 3 of the Finance Minister’s Statement, the Minister said, “ The comparative ratio using the actual contributors and beneficiaries of the Fund de-clined by 11.8% from 3.4 in 2011 to 3.0 in 2014. This was due to the decline in the number of contributors as a result of high unemployment in the 2010/2011 period. ” Mr. Speaker, if this is an actuary report for 2014 and it is comparing [to] 2010/11, (thankfully I keep my statistics because they are no longer avai lable on the new Government portal, the old labour force statistics), and the unemployment rate as r ecorded in 2010 was 6 per cent, and the unemplo yment rate as recorded in 2014 was 9 per cent, how can the Minister of Finance say that it was a result of high unemployment in a previous period when unemployme nt was actually higher when the actuary report was completed?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, that point needs to be read in connection to a later point that also relates to the actual ageing of the population. I mean, this decline is a combination of people who are unemployed and people who are not employed be-cause they …
Minister.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, that point needs to be read in connection to a later point that also relates to the actual ageing of the population. I mean, this decline is a combination of people who are unemployed and people who are not employed be-cause they are retired, and that they have gone from being contributors to being people who are being paid. So it is a combination of those things. And this particul ar paper needs to be read in conjunction with the rest of the report. It just cannot stand alone. So the Honourable Member is right. If you look at this as a standalone statement, it is, at the 2026 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly very least, incomplete. But you have to look at it within conjunction with the rest of it, and you get a picture of what is going on.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. MP Burt.
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, I hope that the public will mark the date and time that the Minister of F inance said the Shadow Minister of Finance was correct. I will move on to my second question, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 2 : ACTUARIAL REVIEW OF THE CO NTRIBUTORY PENSION FUND OF BERMUDA AS OF AUGUST 1, 2014
Mr. E. David BurtThe second question is that in the Honourable M inister’s Statement, towards the end, he speaks about they are going to “consider alternate scenarios included” —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWhere are you looking? Where?
Mr. E. David BurtOn page 5, speaking about i mproving the financial position of the Fund in the l ong term. And it says that “ the Ministry will carefully consider alternate scenarios included in the r eport.” In addition to these alternate scenarios that are included inside of the report, will the …
On page 5, speaking about i mproving the financial position of the Fund in the l ong term. And it says that “ the Ministry will carefully consider alternate scenarios included in the r eport.” In addition to these alternate scenarios that are included inside of the report, will the Minister of Finance also take under advisement the sugg estions which have come from this side of the House in where he would look to consider changing the contributions from a fixed percentage, whereas everyone pays the same amount, to something that is more progressive, whereas in other countries, social security and such retirement programmes are funded on a progressive basis —but not a progressive basis, but even a percentage of someone’s income, as opposed to a fixed amount, which penalises, or has the poor paying a higher percentage of their income, whereas the wealthy, or those who earn more, pay a lesser percentage of their income?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I do not rule that out, Mr. Speaker. Although I have to say that the basis upon which this Fund was set up in the first place does not take that into account. But certainly, this could be one of the options that we …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Yes, MP Burt.
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker . I thank the Minister for his answer, and I look forward to hearing anything more on any possible revisions to and adding some much- needed relief —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, do you have a question or a speech? [Laughter]
Mr. E. David BurtIs there any particular deadline or time that the Minister will anticipate coming back with any recommendations on poss ible changes to the Contributory Pension Fund, taking into account his last answer?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thanks. Minister. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I cannot give a commi tment to a deadline, no.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. MP Burt, you are fine? Okay. All right. That is the second Statement. The third Statement was about cameras at illegal dump sites. And the Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5, MP D. V. Burgess. QUESTION 1: CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES Hon. …
All right. Thank you. MP Burt, you are fine? Okay. All right. That is the second Statement. The third Statement was about cameras at illegal dump sites. And the Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5, MP D. V. Burgess.
QUESTION 1: CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Honourable Minister let us know, will the hours of operation of the drop- off on Palmetto Road be extended, particularly during the summer period?
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Minister.
Hon. L. C raig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to consider the hours for dropoff. And I will continue to take that into consideration. At this time, no. But certainly for the summer, with some of the challenges that we continue to have, I think that might be an undertaking we could take on.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 15, MP Roban.
Mr. Walter H. RobanWould the Minister advise, will these cameras be also monitored by the Bermuda Police Service?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes. I believe I did already mention that in my Statement .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: But yes. The police are involved, as well.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Yes. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency number — [Gavel]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOther way! Go the other way! Not here. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Wake up, Mark. Wake up, Mark. You are asleep over there. Wake up. It is too early to be sleeping. [Laughter and inaudible interjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. All right. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister please confirm that there has been an increase in illegal dumping since his Government put the restricted hours in place at the Tynes Bay? Meaning that hours of operation to the public at …
All right. All right.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Honourable Minister please confirm that there has been an increase in illegal dumping since his Government put the restricted hours in place at the Tynes Bay? Meaning that hours of operation to the public at Tynes Bay are less now than what they had been, and this has caused an increase in the ill egal dumping.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, that is a pretty loaded question. No, I do not have evidence of that at all. This has been going on for years. So, again, we have taken the challenge that we are having under advisement.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Yes, the Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6, MP Wayne Furbert. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Would the Minister agree that once people find out where those cameras are for those illegal dumps, they will [find] another location?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, that is kind of like a hypothetical question, Honourable Member. Yes. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5. MP Burgess, you have a second question? QUESTION 2: CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister put dumpsters …
Yes, that is kind of like a hypothetical question, Honourable Member. Yes. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5. MP Burgess, you have a second question?
QUESTION 2: CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Will the Minister put dumpsters in the central parishes, particularly during public holidays and during the summertime?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of things that we are taking into consideration. But I cannot make that commitment that we are about to put dumpsters midway t hrough the Island. Certainly, with the challenges that we are having, we are looking at transition …
Minister.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Mr. Speaker, there are a lot of things that we are taking into consideration. But I cannot make that commitment that we are about to put dumpsters midway t hrough the Island. Certainly, with the challenges that we are having, we are looking at transition stations and the like, and that is under advisement and in the plan.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. MP Burgess. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, anot her question,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerA question or a supplementary? Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerQuestion, okay. Yes. 2028 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly QUESTION 3: CAMERAS AT ILLEGAL DUMPING SITES Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Does the department still pick u p large items on scheduled days throughout the week, throughout the country?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: No.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: I misunderstood the question. I mean, this is a bout illegal dumping at sites. So I assumed that is where you were talking about. Do you want to clarify your question? Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes. It is all illegal …
Thank you. [Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: I misunderstood the question. I mean, this is a bout illegal dumping at sites. So I assumed that is where you were talking about. Do you want to clarify your question?
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes. It is all illegal dumping, because if [the department] does not pick up the large items, then peopl e will dump them som ewhere else. That is why I asked the question.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: I see. Yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We continue to pick up on a regular basis; yes, we do. We know that it is a c hallenge sometimes with maintenance, but yes, we do.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Thank you, Honourable Minister. [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. The Honourable Member is claiming ambush, yes. [Laughter and inaudibl e interjections ] ANNOUNCEMENT BY SPEAKER HOUSE VISITOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat completes the Statement 3. We now move to Statement 4, by the Honourable Cole Simons. And just before we move to that, we want to take this opportunity to recognise former Member of Parliament, Mrs. Kim Young, who is sitting in the Gallery. [Desk thumping] [Question Period continuing]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 4, MP Roberts - Holshouser, the Deputy Speaker. Do you have a question? QUESTION 1: MARITIME WASTE MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL
Mrs. Suzann Roberts -HolshouserThank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed I do. On page 2 of the Minister’s Statement, as it pertains to the installation of pump- out facilities, he mentions the pump- out facilit ies are being installed for all new marinas. My question to the Minister, if he would be so courteous to …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Indeed I do. On page 2 of the Minister’s Statement, as it pertains to the installation of pump- out facilities, he mentions the pump- out facilit ies are being installed for all new marinas. My question to the Minister, if he would be so courteous to respond, would be, Who is responsible for the payment of the installation of these pump- out facilities? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll righ t. Thank you. Minister. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you for your question. Any new pump- out facilities will be underwri tten by the developer.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: As a condition under the Planning Act.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Yes, MP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary, yes. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Would the Minister confirm that a pricing structure has been put in place for the public who use thes e facilities? Or is it free to the pu blic?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: At this point, we are looking at a nominal fee. Since we are still developing the i nfrastructure, that fee has not been finalised as yet. But it will be a nominal f ee. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMP Lister. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Supplementary. Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Yes. Hon. Dennis P. Lister: If I am understanding your response correctly, because you are still going through the process, a fee structure has not been put in pla ce yet, correct? [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Dennis P. …
MP Lister.
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Supplementary.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Yes.
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: If I am understanding your response correctly, because you are still going through the process, a fee structure has not been put in pla ce yet, correct?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Your Statement indicated, though, that there are five pumping stations already up and running in Dockyard and South Basin, correct?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: So if there are five up and running, how is the fee being incurred, or is there a fee being incurred by the public who are using them?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My Statement indicated that five pump- out stations wi ll be provided at South Basin, Dockyard.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. Thank you. That completes the Statement 4. We now move to the Statement 5, by MP S. D. Richards. The Chair will first recognise the Hon-ourable Member from constituency 16, MP Weeks. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016
Mr. Michael A. WeeksThank you, Mr. Speaker. My question has nothing to do with the selection, but just the process of that selection. So my question to the Minister, Mr. Speaker, is, Why did the Ministry [not] put out a public call for consultation and feedback from our public, as they have done …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is a very good question. And when I look back at what has been done, historically, it seems that the process —inherent to the process has been kind of all over the map. And I will give you an …
Minister.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. That is a very good question. And when I look back at what has been done, historically, it seems that the process —inherent to the process has been kind of all over the map. And I will give you an example. In 2012, there were no public submissions requested by the Naming and Recognition Committee. However , there was one nomination. And Cabinet decided to name Mary Prince as National Hero. So there are guidelines; there is a layout for this process. But over the years, it has not been strictly adhered to.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. MP Burt, yes. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. E. David BurtSupplementary, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the question was asked, Why did the Ministry of Community and Culture not put out a request for nominations this year as they did last year? And I do not believe the Minister answered that question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat is fair enough. Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: That is a fair question, Mr. Speaker. But they are guidelines. They are guidelines. They are not mandatory processes that have to be followed. They are guidelines. And as I stat ed in the past, when I look at all …
That is fair enough. Minister.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: That is a fair question, Mr. Speaker. But they are guidelines. They are guidelines. They are not mandatory processes that have to be followed. They are guidelines. And as I stat ed in the past, when I look at all the different years, and I have information going back to 2009, it is all over the map. Some years, submissions, public submissions were requested. Other years, there were no public submi ssions. Some years, there were Nat ional Heroes named. And other years, there were no National H eroes named. There is nothing in the guidelines that say every year there has to be a National Hero named.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Mini ster. The Chair will recognise the H onourable Member from constituency 17, MP Walton Brown.
Mr. Walton BrownWould the Government consider enhancing the National Heroes Awards process and procedure so that it becomes a truly expansive national award event, and replace the current archaic award system that we have inherited?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Honourable Member sounds like he has some definite ideas, and I am more than willing to sit down with him to review them.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise the Member from constituency 6, MP Wayne Furbert. 2030 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speak er. Can the Honourable Minister inform this House whether there were actually —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIs this your question? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Can the Honourable Minister inform this House, were there actual forms for 2016, because on your website, there is only 2015. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I have been made aware that you can use the same forms. …
Yes, yes.
QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Can the Honourable Minister inform this House, were there actual forms for 2016, because on your website, there is only 2015.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I have been made aware that you can use the same forms. So the form for 2015 is the same format as for 2016.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. [Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI am okay. I am very okay. I am just making sure that I am organised before I recognise you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo, no. I had my eyes on you. I would not miss the Deputy Speaker. [Laughter] SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Suzann Roberts -HolshouserThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire from the Minister if the Minister would be so kind to tell us whether submissions, as is the standard policy right now, can submissions made at any time of year, or whether there is a specific window of opportunity …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire from the Minister if the Minister would be so kind to tell us whether submissions, as is the standard policy right now, can submissions made at any time of year, or whether there is a specific window of opportunity for people to submit any names that they would like to see for H eroes? Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The public can submit nominations at any time of the year. There is no particular window that they have to adhere to.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, just take your seat, please. Honourable Member Burt! And you wait until the other Member has finished before you take your stand! Yes! Honourable Member from cons tituency 18, MP David Burt, you have the floor. Supplementary or a question?
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary question, yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, in his answer th at the Minister just provided, the Minister just said that you can submit your nomination at any time. However, last year ( and I am reading from the website) it says, Nominate the National Hero. And it lists a deadline that says, Deadline for …
Mr. Speaker, in his answer th at the Minister just provided, the Minister just said that you can submit your nomination at any time. However, last year ( and I am reading from the website) it says, Nominate the National Hero. And it lists a deadline that says, Deadline for or 2015 Natio nal Hero submi ssions was 13 th of March 2015. So when did the Government change their position from there was a deadline to no deadline?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister? Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you. You can submit at any time. There is no w indow of opportunity to submit a nomination. So the public, meaning it could be a regular member of the public, it could be a civil servant, could even be a …
Thank you. Minister?
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you. You can submit at any time. There is no w indow of opportunity to submit a nomination. So the public, meaning it could be a regular member of the public, it could be a civil servant, could even be a member of the Naming and Recognition Committee. They can put a name forward at any time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBut before that date. Just before that date, yes? Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Before that date, I guess so. [Inaudible interjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere would have to be a deadline.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, I will take your point of inform ation. POINT OF INFORMATION Bermuda House of Assembly Ms. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. I would like to hear the answer actually from the Minister as opposed to from anyone else. Is there a deadline? Because my understanding from what I just …
Yes, I will take your point of inform ation.
POINT OF INFORMATION
Bermuda House of Assembly Ms. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. I would like to hear the answer actually from the Minister as opposed to from anyone else. Is there a deadline? Because my understanding from what I just heard was, the answer was that there is now no deadline.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI thought the Honourable Member just said there is a deadline.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnyway, will you, Honourable Minister, please? Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is that any member of the public can put forward a name, nominate a name at any time. There is no window by which they have to put a name forward.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo what was that you just mentioned about a deadline? Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I did not say there was a deadline. I said that they can put forward names at any point during the calendar year.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Oka y. The Chair will recognise MP Furbert. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, the Minister read out certain criteria that the individual had to meet. But also, on the website, there are additional guidelines. And it says, “ Nominations shall be made on official National Heroes Nomination …
Okay. Oka y. The Chair will recognise MP Furbert.
SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, the Minister read out certain criteria that the individual had to meet. But also, on the website, there are additional guidelines. And it says, “ Nominations shall be made on official National Heroes Nomination Forms ” and “For any given year only completed and approved nominations received prior to the posted deadline will be taken into consideration. ” So the question I asked is, Was the nomination received on the official nomination form? And was it received before the . . . that was the first question. Were the nominations received on the official nomination form —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberPrior to the— Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: —closing date? Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: As I said in my first remarks, Mr. Speaker, the guidelines are guidelines. And historically, they have not been strictly adhered to as it is laid out on the website. So we can discuss this all …
Prior to the—
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: —closing date?
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: As I said in my first remarks, Mr. Speaker, the guidelines are guidelines. And historically, they have not been strictly adhered to as it is laid out on the website. So we can discuss this all day. But the bottom line is that, as I said, back in 2012, there were no public submissions. None were requested. There was one nomination. And Cabinet decided to name Mary Prince as National Hero. What I will say is that, as the Minister, we are going to revisit this whole process. As the Honourable Member, MP Walton Brown, alluded to, we are going to look at it. I think John Swan is worthy to be reco gnised as a National Hero. To get caught up on proc-ess—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI do not think anybody . . . no one is questioning that, Honourable Member.
Ms. Kim N. WilsonPoint of order, Mr. Speaker. Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Ms. Kim N. WilsonThank you. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Minister is mi sleading the public and this House by suggesting that we are (quote) getting cau ght up on the person [sic]. My friend indicated —
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersHe said “ process ”! POINT OF ORDER Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Point of order. I did not say that, Mr. Speaker.
Ms. Ki m N. WilsonWe are discussing this as this was commenced with respect by MP Weeks. It is not about personality; it is about process. And we need to make sure that that — Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. [Crosstalk]
Ms. Kim N . WilsonThat is the point that we are tr ying to raise, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerRight, yes. Yes, Honourable Member. POINT OF ORDER 2032 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member, perhaps inadvertently, or maybe she did not hear what the Minister said. The Minister said, We should not be caught up on the …
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe did! He did! Hon. Patricia J. Gor don-Pamplin: He did not just say “ person. ”
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersHe said both! He said both! Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: He said, We ought not to be caught up on process, because he believes that the individual was a worthy individual.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNo one is questioning that, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Minister. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure the Honourable Minister answered my question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Then you must have a suppl ementary. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: No. He never answered my question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, he does not have to, Honourable Member. He does not have to. You ask it some way. If he does not answer it the way you want it to be an-swered, then you ask a s upplementary. That is the way it works. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, if you want. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I asked the Honourable Mi nister—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, do you want to ask a suppl ementary? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, I do.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou asked a question; you ask a supplementary then. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, I do. Yes, I do.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Was the nomination that was claimed by the Honourable Premier put in after the closing date?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Speaker, I was not in Cabinet at that time. I was not privy to the timelines. I cannot answer that question; I was not there. So he is asking me to be specific about a deadline? I cannot answer that.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Mini ster. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Will the —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo. You have already had your two supplementaries. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I have ques tions, do I not?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have a question then, or you have a second question? QUESTION 2 : BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016 Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: A second question, yes. The question is this: Was there a form filled out, as based on the criteria b y the Honourable Pr emier, for the nomination?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I cannot answer that question. I do not know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Will the Minister come back and inform this Honourable House whether that infor-mation was filled out properly by the Premier? And let me say, Sir John Swan is my mentor.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Minister. Yes, Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Honourable Member keeps adhering or asking questions whether things were done properly, whether things were done properly, like there was something improper done. There was nothing improper done. As I said when I first began, they are …
Yes, Minister. Yes, Minister.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Honourable Member keeps adhering or asking questions whether things were done properly, whether things were done properly, like there was something improper done. There was nothing improper done. As I said when I first began, they are guidelines. And historically, the guidelines have not been
Bermuda House of Assembly adhered to as if they were the Ten Commandments. They have been all over the place.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, thank you. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: So the Honourable Member can ask questions forever and ever. He is not going to get a diff erent answer.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, thank you, Honourable Member. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Members. I think we have exhausted this. No, you have a question, MP Burt? All right. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA’S NATIONAL HERO 2016
Mr. E. David BurtAbso lutely, Mr. Speaker, I have a question. The question is, in one of the Minister’s r esponses, the Minister’s response was that we should not get caught up on process. Is the Minister saying that when members of the public read information and directions th at are given on …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. No, I am not saying that at all.
Mr. E. David BurtIf the Minister is not saying that, can the Minister please explain why the process and the requirements [as] explained on his very own we bsite—the Minister keeps going back to 2012. H is own department updated the website in 2015, and it lists specific items there. And the Minister …
If the Minister is not saying that, can the Minister please explain why the process and the requirements [as] explained on his very own we bsite—the Minister keeps going back to 2012. H is own department updated the website in 2015, and it lists specific items there. And the Minister keeps going back to 2012, when [in] 2015 there are items which are listed on this website. The question that is asked is, When did those requirements change? And I think that is something that should be answered because what the Minister is saying is different than what is on the website of his very own Ministry.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I also stated that I am willing to sit down with the Honourable Member, MP Walton Brown, and we will revisit the whole guideline procedure.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Would any other Members care to ask . . . MP Roban.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes. Go ahead. SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mr. Walter H. RobanI am aghast at that answer, for one. Two, I am asking this House, Will the Minister make a c ommitment to let us know as soon as poss ible who is on the committee, because clearly a selection was made. And there is a committee to make the selection.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Minister. Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the past, the persons actually sitting on the Naming and Recognition Committee, have not been named publicly. But if the Honourable Member wants to know who sits on the committee, I can provide him …
All right. Thank you. Minister. Minister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the past, the persons actually sitting on the Naming and Recognition Committee, have not been named publicly. But if the Honourable Member wants to know who sits on the committee, I can provide him those names. It is not like “Top Secret CI A” inform ation.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Remember, you just said you did not have them. So you will — Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I said I do not know who sits on the Naming and Recognition Committee.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerRight. 2034 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I can find out and pr ovide the names to the Honourable Member if he is so inclined to know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay, good. Okay. All right.
Mr. Walter H. RobanWould the Minister confirm that the only time that there has been an effort to not di sclose who is on the committee was last year, when the previous Minister made a Statement in this House? That is, I think the Minister should be able to confirm whether that is …
Would the Minister confirm that the only time that there has been an effort to not di sclose who is on the committee was last year, when the previous Minister made a Statement in this House? That is, I think the Minister should be able to confirm whether that is the only time, because there has been no other time when there has been a refusal to disclose who is on the committee.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Speaker, I do not know what to say. I cannot agree with what he is sa ying. I do not know.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, can the Mini ster inform this House whether the committee approved— [Timer beeps]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Honourable Member, t hat is time. Time is up. CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECHES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 1, the Junior Minister of Tourism and Transport, MP Bascome. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Good morning,
Mr. S peaker.
The SpeakerGood morning. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: And good mor ning, Honourable Members. I stand this morning, Mr. Speaker, to ask that this Honourable House send a letter of congratul ations to Mrs. Muriel Richardson, who will be retiring after 37 years of managing the Rosedon Hotel. Mr. Speaker, this lady …
Good morning.
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: And good mor ning, Honourable Members. I stand this morning, Mr. Speaker, to ask that this Honourable House send a letter of congratul ations to Mrs. Muriel Richardson, who will be retiring after 37 years of managing the Rosedon Hotel. Mr. Speaker, this lady has gone over and above to see that her property and her staff have been recognised on numerous occasions. The lady has held numerous positions in the hotel industry, Mr. Speaker. I have had the opportunity to engage this lady in numerous personal conversations. And once, as a driver ambassador for this country, Mr. Speaker, I used to do personal work with that particular hotel. And they got offended when I used that adjective; however, l ife is what we would call self - preservation, Mr. Speaker. And I am going to ask that this Honourable House please send a letter of congratulations to Mrs. Muriel Richardson. I have my Honourable Minister of Home Affairs wanting to be associated. I saw the Honourable Walton Brown with his hand waving. So I am going to ask, Mr. Speaker, that this whole Honourable House be associated with those comments. And thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Would any other Honourable Member care to speak? The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 14. MP Glen Smith, you have the floor.
Mr. Glen SmithI would like the Honourable House to send congratulations to an entrepreneur who was just recently in the press this week, a lovely lady by the name of Nesi Armstrong. She has a company by the name of Island Organics. At the end of the day, she was chosen to …
I would like the Honourable House to send congratulations to an entrepreneur who was just recently in the press this week, a lovely lady by the name of Nesi Armstrong. She has a company by the name of Island Organics. At the end of the day, she was chosen to be the representative for the Ameri ca’s Cup with her product, which is a suntan [sunscreen] protection. And it just shows that people, particularly Nesi, she saw a niche. She saw an opportunity with the America’s Cup. And she took it as a hand- up and not as a handout. I was happy that I did introduce her to the right people of Mike Winfield and Peter Durhager. And today she is a very happy lady, and she has got a great little business on the way. So I would also like to do a little commercial for her, that all Bermudians should subscribe to her product because it is a locally owned company. And let us put the Clarins away and the Coppertone. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 21, MP Rolfe Commi ssiong.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Rolfe Commissiong: Mr. Speaker, I would ask this Honourable House to send an expression of condolence to the family of the late, great Muhammad Ali. I am sure that all Members of this House would like to be associated with the sentiment that …
Good morning.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Rolfe Commissiong: Mr. Speaker, I would ask this Honourable House to send an expression of condolence to the family of the late, great Muhammad Ali. I am sure that all Members of this House would like to be associated with the sentiment that I just expressed. Mr. Speaker, while Muhammad Ali was a global icon, we know that he had a fairly deep relationship with Bermuda and Bermudians, one in which his daughter continues even now. On average, again, my guest imate, we see her here at least once every two years or so. And she has been coming here for some time. Many of you, and others in radioland, would have read my piece, my tribute to Muhammad Ali. It resonated powerfully, and deservedly so, because few men have given so much, so much to not only black people worldwide, but the global community. Few have done that more than he whom we mourn today, Muhammad Ali. Mr. Speaker, I would just close on that point by, if I may, with your indulgence, sharing a quote that was featured in the tribute that was featured in the Royal Gazette that I wrote. Muhammad Ali said, “Some people thought that I was a hero. Some people said that what I did was wrong. But everything that I did was according to my conscience. I wasn’t trying to be a leader. I just wanted to be free.” Rest in peace, my brother. Mr. Speaker, in the remaining minutes, and I am sure that while we speak of him whom we have lost, w e must also celebrate our young people who are doing great things. Muhammad Ali always interacted with young people. Even here, most of the pi ctures that we have seen of his visits here were of his interacting with young people. I just want to quickly comm end the great work and progress exemplified by one Zaji Smith, who, Mr. Speaker, is a Member of this House, if I may. As a Member of the Youth Parli ament, she was Deputy Opposition Leader. She is getting ready now to go off to school in the UK. But just a quick minute here, if I may, just to go over a list of her achievements. Zaji achieved the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award in Year 10, and Si lver Award in Year 11. She was a member of the Candy Striping programme at King Edward. She again has been for the past four years a Member of the Bermuda Youth Parliament, for which she holds the position of Youth Deputy Opposition Leader. And in 2015, she represented Bermuda at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Regional Youth Parliament Debate. She was a m entor on YouthNet. She volunteered weekly at West Pembroke Primary School. Zaji is a role model. And I am hoping that she continues to inspire young people all up and down this country. We expect great things from her. And thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 2. MP Nandi Outerbridge, you have the floor.
Mrs. Nandi OuterbridgeGood afternoon; sorry. I rise this morning to ask that this Honourable House send congratulations to the Under -11 Cricket Team who played in the Hiscox Celebrity Cricket Festival last Saturday! [Inaudible interjections ]
Mrs. Nandi OuterbridgeOh, they beat us up so bad. They played a great game. Actually, one of the young ladies, by the name of Rosie, who bowled Power Girl out continuously, said that she actually wants to be the first female cricketer for the St. George's Cup Match team. So be looking …
Mrs. Nandi OuterbridgeBut overall, it was a great day. I think that I bowled well. I am looking over at the Premier, because I bowled well. I do not know about batting. I left with a few injuries. But I just want to congratulate Hiscox for putting on such a great event. …
But overall, it was a great day. I think that I bowled well. I am looking over at the Premier, because I bowled well. I do not know about batting. I left with a few injuries. But I just want to congratulate Hiscox for putting on such a great event. The continued community support is welcomed, and I want to associate the Premier and the Minister of Social Development and Sports, because they both also played. The Premier played very well. I do not know about the other Minister. But it was a great day. So, thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Inaudible interjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Deputy Speaker.
Mrs. Suzann Roberts -HolshouserThank you, Mr. Speaker. It says a lot for keeping history alive, and once again, as [it has been] since the 1800s, the people of St. George's and St. David’s participated, in particular, in the Blessing of the Boats. And that was when the Bishop, Bishop Dill, together with Canon …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It says a lot for keeping history alive, and once again, as [it has been] since the 1800s, the people of St. George's and St. David’s participated, in particular, in the Blessing of the Boats. And that was when the Bishop, Bishop Dill, together with Canon Raths, were rowed across from St. George's into St. David’s where, historically, the Bishop would have been rowed by family members in order to meet members from the Chapel of Ease. The Chapel of Ease was simply a church put into place to ease those individuals who could not get to the main church. But, Mr. Speaker, it was an awesome mor ning. The event was joined by the Salvation Army band 2036 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly members. The gigs from St. George's rowed the Bishop across, one of the gigs, but three of them were blessed. The Canon was rowed across by the Sea Cadets. The event took place at the dock. It took about half -an-hour. Then the Bishop and a few others who joined him took to the waters, where they had the opportunity to bless boats that would be sailing from our beautiful shores, across the Atlantic, to other loc ations. And, Mr. Speaker, I do not know if you have ever had the opportunity to take a look at the horizon and see only the horizon and the waters before you, and not land. But for some of us, it is a very scary concept. So to have the opportunity to have their boats blessed, Mr. Speaker, they were standing on their boats, waiting for the Bishop to get to their boats to bless their boat before they took the next part of their journey. Mr. Speaker, I would encourage—this is an annual event —individuals to come out next year. We had the opportunity to bless the Millennium, which happened to be pulled alongside in St. George's. It was felt that while there was one member on board, i t was the ideal opportunity to bless her journey back and forth from the West End of the Island to the beautiful East End of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourabl e Member from constituency 5, MP Derrick Burgess. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like for this House to send condolences to the family of Leroy Riley, who lost his …
All right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourabl e Member from constituency 5, MP Derrick Burgess.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like for this House to send condolences to the family of Leroy Riley, who lost his daughter Lerona. She will be funeralised t omorrow. I would like to associate Honourable Members Weeks, Gordon- Pamplin, and all of Hamilton Parish, [and] MP Furbert. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to be assoc iated with the remarks concerning Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest persons who ever walked t his land in the world. Now, Mr. Speaker, as you know, Muhammad Ali was sentenced to five years in prison and fined, and stripped of his title because he refused to serve in the army and go to another land to fight. And when he did that, Mr. Speaker, he represented those war veterans in World Wars I and II who returned to their homes after the war, and blacks in particular e ndured lawful discrimination until their death. His refusal to go to another country and fight, he says, I have got war in my own count ry. I cannot do this and I cannot do that, because of my skin complexion. He stood up for that. Not many men, black or white, would have sacrificed the [boxing] world crown and all the other benefits that go with it to fight for ot hers. Muhammad Ali threw his Olympic medal in the water [because of his] disgust with his country. So, Mr. Speaker, he would always be, in my opinion, one of the greatest men to ever grace this earth. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Mi nister for Home Affairs, Minister Gordon- Pamplin. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the House has been asked to be associated with the condolences to the family of Muham mad …
All right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Mi nister for Home Affairs, Minister Gordon- Pamplin.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I know the House has been asked to be associated with the condolences to the family of Muham mad Ali. But let me just say that I had the privilege of not just meeting him many years ago when he came to the Island, but also having more recently played tennis with his daughter, Laila. And to see the love and respect that a daughter had for her father and the adoration that a father had for a daug hter was something very, very special. And Laila, I would just like to say, has my deepest condolences. She actually came to Bermuda to play in a pro- celeb tennis event that was put on as a fundraiser for our tennis juniors. And she is as benevolent and welcoming to our young people as was her father. And as they say, the apple did not fall far from the tree. So she has my heartfelt condolences at this very difficult time, as they go through the transition of her dad. Mr. Speaker, I would also ask that this House at this time send congratulations. We will know that this past weekend saw the Alpha Beautillion event at the Ruth Seaton- James [auditorium]. And the winner of the six young men, and the one who stood out and was recognised as the winner, was Theo Wolffe. And Theo is an incredible young man. I think that his accomplishments are almost, I can say, beyond his years, Mr. Speaker. He is a young gentleman who has his head well put on his shoulders. He is an example and a role model for our young people, and certainly a young man of whom we can be tremendously proud. So I would ask that this Honourable House send congratulations to Theo as he enjoys the benefits and the fruits of his labour in being recognis ed here as the w inner of the Alpha Beautillion. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 16, MP Weeks.
Mr. Michael A. WeeksThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate t he Bermuda National Rugby Team for their World Cup qualifier over in the Bahamas this past week; also Jessica Lewis, Shaquille Dill and Tyrone Smith for their performances over this past weekend in track and field. Mr. Speaker, …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate t he Bermuda National Rugby Team for their World Cup qualifier over in the Bahamas this past week; also Jessica Lewis, Shaquille Dill and Tyrone Smith for their performances over this past weekend in track and field. Mr. Speaker, as you know, as the Shadow of Sport, we have got a lot of activities. But I wanted to wish the Bermuda Football Team, the national team,
Bermuda House of Assembly all the best and say I hope they bounce back from defeat. I mean, I told you up there, Mr. Speaker, up at National Stadium. I saw the Honourable P remier in a kind of tight jersey.
[Laughter]
Mr. Michael A. WeeksBut he did represent us well. I did, too. And I did see the Sports Minister there. And we were all there cheering. I saw three MPs say, Yes, and Gordon- Pamplin. But we were all there, Mr. Speaker, in numbers, trying to support the national team. [Inaudible interjections and …
Mr. Michael A. WeeksMr. Premier , I saw you. Let me move on, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker, let me move on. I am being rattled by the Honourable Premier. [Laughter]
Mr. Michael A. WeeksBut, Mr. Speaker, moving on. As we take on French Guiana next week, I hope that we as a country can support our team as we did here locally, that we send out our best wishes to our teams and our coaches. Mr. Speaker, before I go into my last …
But, Mr. Speaker, moving on. As we take on French Guiana next week, I hope that we as a country can support our team as we did here locally, that we send out our best wishes to our teams and our coaches. Mr. Speaker, before I go into my last thing, I have to also say congratulations to the National Sports Centre team. Because last weekend, as some of us recall, there were three events joined that day. And we were going back and forth as to what event was to go where. But it was the National Sports Ce ntre team that made all that happen, the groundsmen and staff. And I would like to associate perhaps the whole House, Mr. Speaker, with that. Because a lot of times, those front -line workers are the ones that are forgotten. And I, for one, want to congratulate them because at the end of the day, it was a job well done. But before I take my seat, Mr. Speaker, I need to say that I too want to be associat ed with the r emarks for the great Muhammad Ali. You know, there is not much more to be said. But as a child, he was one of my heroes, and he will always be remembered fondly. But as I take my seat, Mr. Speaker, I must say that over the last five or six years, I played in the Hi scox Under -11 Cricket Festival. But this particular year, I do not recall getting an invitation, Mr. Speaker.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNobody did. [Inaudible interjections ] Mr. Michael A. Weeks: And I just say that —yes. Now, I am hearing that my neighbour is on the list. But no invitation came to myself, to my home, or even to any of my colleagues. But I do want to be associated with …
Nobody did. [Inaudible interjections ] Mr. Michael A. Weeks: And I just say that —yes. Now, I am hearing that my neighbour is on the list. But no invitation came to myself, to my home, or even to any of my colleagues. But I do want to be associated with the fi ne event that was taking place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Members. It looks like it is lunchtime now, Honourable Members. So if we can just break for lunch and come back. So, Honourable Premier? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that we adjourn for lunch.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. The House is adjourned to 2:00 pm. Proceedings adjourned at 12:30 pm Proceedings resumed at 2:04 pm [Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair] CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECHES [Continu ation thereof ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay, Honourable Members, we ar e continuing with the Obituary and Congratulatory Speeches. Is there any other Honourable Member who would care to speak? The Chair will recognise the Minister of F inance. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to send congratul …
Okay, Honourable Members, we ar e continuing with the Obituary and Congratulatory Speeches. Is there any other Honourable Member who would care to speak? The Chair will recognise the Minister of F inance. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to send congratul ations to the Salvation Army. I attended a concert on the weekend along with my parliamentary colleagues the Honourable Derrick Burgess and the Honourable Wayne Furbert. We were there and we had an ex-tremely enjoyable evening of music headed up by Bandmaster Warren Jones. It was a very, very, very, large orchestra, and the repertoire was wide and sometimes very complex. And I think everybody there had a very enjoyable and uplifting evening. And so I would like to send congratulations, not only on behalf of myself, but also the other Members I just mentioned who were also there, who at the moment are not in the House, but I know they would like for me to associate them with these congratul ations.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. 2038 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 21[sic] , MP Walton Brown.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSeventeen, Walton Brown . . . [co nstituency] 21 is next to you.
Mr. Walton BrownYes, Mr. Speaker, for two weeks when I was here I wanted to send a note of congrat ulations to an individual. I was unable to complete my congratulatory remarks because I wanted to do it dur-ing Heritage Month. And I think it is highly appropriate, Mr. Speaker, that this …
Yes, Mr. Speaker, for two weeks when I was here I wanted to send a note of congrat ulations to an individual. I was unable to complete my congratulatory remarks because I wanted to do it dur-ing Heritage Month. And I think it is highly appropriate, Mr. Speaker, that this House send a note of congrat ulations to a former Member of this Parliament and a former Government Minister , Mr. Dale Butler. Mr. Butler has produced a prolific amount of information—books, as well as plays —for the public. And I actually attended a play that he put together in May called Sinnerman on gun violence, interestingly enough, and the acting was superb. It was directed by Ms. Gina Davis . I attended it along with my colleagues the Honourable Kim Wilson and the Honourable Wayne Furbert , and it was truly an outstanding performance. And it just goes to show the amount of tal-ent that we have in this country, the ability of Mr. Butler to marshal that talent together, and to create a production that was both entertaining as well as one which spoke to a v ery important social crisis that we have in our country today. So I think I would like to have this House send a note of congratulations and to thank Mr. Butler for his sterling work over the past few decades.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Learned Member from constituency 31, MP Shawn Crockwell. You have the floor.
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellMr. Speaker , I would like to be associated with the congratulations to Mrs. Muriel Richardson who is, sadly for tourism, about to retire. She, in my view, is the consummate professional. Whomever I spoke to, whether they were tourists or whether they were individual s in the tourism industry …
Mr. Speaker , I would like to be associated with the congratulations to Mrs. Muriel Richardson who is, sadly for tourism, about to retire. She, in my view, is the consummate professional. Whomever I spoke to, whether they were tourists or whether they were individual s in the tourism industry in Bermuda, everyone spoke extremely highly of Muriel. And she was a wonderful sounding board for me whilst I was the Minister and so [I am] certainly sad to see her leave the industry, but certainly for a much deserved period of relaxation for her. She is also the sister of my former Permanent Secretary, Francis Richardson, so indeed a great family that has made their contribution. Also, I would like to send congratulations or be associated with the congratulations to Theo Wolffe, a wonderful young man doing the Beautillion. I would like to associate Mr. Walton Brown as well, and Wayne Scott. And also I congratulate, again, the A lpha Phi Alpha for putting on that wonderful event every year that has become a signature event in this country, not just for the fraternity, but also for schools. The young men look forward to it and the talent that is put on display there is really extraordinary, but congratulations to Mr. Wolffe and to his parents. We know his father is the Senior Magist rate, Mr. Juan Wolffe. And I also want to be associated with the r emarks for the late great Muhammad Ali, Mr. Speaker. I am sure all of us can have the same story. He was 74 when he passed, my father is 75, Mr. Speaker, so growing up I used to like boxing and I used to enjoy watching Sugar Ray Leonard and Hitman Hearns and all those guys. And you know when we got excited as kids about these big fights , and if you compare the fights today to back then, I mean, those fights were great —Sugar and Hitman Hearns , and those guys. But he would say this is nothing compared to the great Muhammad Ali. And no matter how many document aries I have seen . . . this is just unbelievable, when it comes to Muhammad Ali, I can watch them over and over and over. His professiona l life was extraordinary, the great fights that he had, the way that he . . . the strategy he employed during those fights was unbe-lievable, fighting men that were bigger than him, stronger than him, but he found a way. But then his life, the fact that th is is a man that stood on principle, the . . . you know there was a time, Mr. Speaker, when he was not as adored as he is today. There was a time when he became a Muslim and when he r efused to fight for America and they saw him as di sloyal. There was a tim e that he was actually hated in America. But he stood on his principle and by doing that, in time, he became revered , and today he is the global icon that he is . So I applaud the Honourable Member Rolfe Commissiong for his piece [on Ali] and for the congratulations to him in his life. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for Social Development. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you. T hank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this ti me I would like to acknowledge and thank five organisations —the Be rmuda Cricket Board, the Bermuda Football Associ …
Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for Social Development.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you. T hank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, at this ti me I would like to acknowledge and thank five organisations —the Be rmuda Cricket Board, the Bermuda Football Associ ation, Hiscox, the National Sports Centre, and the Bermuda Rugby Football Union—for coming together to agree to a win- win agreement which saw three events, namely: the CFU Caribbean Cup hosted by the Bermuda Football Association; a World Cup Qual ifying hosted by the Bermuda Rugby Federation; and
Bermuda House of Assembly the Hiscox Celebrity Cricket Festival, hosted by Hi scox, held on 4 June at the National Sports Centre. I just wish to congratulate all five of those organisations because there was a little conflict about which game was going to be played where, and there were some meetings held, and everybody worked t ogether. It was really a collaborative effort and the day went off without a hitch. So I just want to thank those organisations. And I also want to make special mention, I want to associate the Honourable MP Wayne Scott, I also want to mention that the Corrections . . . inmates from our Corrections Institut e were actually present at the field that day because there were a lot moving parts trying to put these events on and they pitched in and helped with moving equipment and setting up and break ing down. So I want to specifically thank our i nmates at the Berm uda Correctional Institute for their contribution to the day. I also would like to congratulate the Bermuda National Rugby Team. In their World Cup qualifying match they defeated the Bahamas 32- 13 at the N ational Sports Centre on June 4 th, the same day. And Mr. Speaker, I also would like to assoc iate myself with the [comments on the] passing of the great Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was a hero of mine. From the time that I was a child my father would take me to watch him fight. And I specifically reme mber going to Somerset Cricket Club one night and watching Muhammad Ali fight , and it was projected on a big screen up on the field there, this was before c able, this was before satellite and pay -per-view. And he was just an outstanding humanitarian, and his pas sing really touched me personally as it touched a lot of people —millions and millions around the world —who admired this man for the courage of his convictions, his faith, and his willingness to stand up and be counted at a time when it cost him dearly , whe n it cost him financially. And there are not too many modern-day athletes who would do such a thing, but he did it , and we all respect him and love him as a result of it. And I also remember when I was living in Washington DC attending Howard University, Muhammad Ali appeared at Malcom X Park for some type of festival , where they said Muhammad Ali was going to make an appearance. So me and by buddies, all of us from Bermuda, and a couple of American guys, who said, We’re gonna go over there and see Muhammad Ali, because most of us, I think all of us, had never actually seen him in the flesh. And I r emember being at the Park, there was food, there was all the music going on, a lot of drumming, and then it swept through the crowd —Muhammad Ali just pulled up in his limousine—and I could not wait to see this giant of a man. And he walked through the crowd and I remember saying, He’s not bigger than I am! But he was a giant of a man and will remain a giant of a man.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for Health, Minister Jeanne Atherden. You have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, first of all, before I do my main congratulations, I would like to be associated with the remarks with respect to Muriel Richardson. In …
Thank you, Honourable Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for Health, Minister Jeanne Atherden. You have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, first of all, before I do my main congratulations, I would like to be associated with the remarks with respect to Muriel Richardson. In another life I had to interact with Muriel and, as former Minister Crockwell said, she was one of those individuals that whenever you reached out to her she would come up with solutions. And as a woman I was proud that she was in there, in that organisation, carrying her weight. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to have congratulations sent to all of those that were associated with the Healthy Schools Award. I had the privilege and honour, with Minister Scott, to be awarding certif icates t o schools who were involved in our pr ogramme. And the Healthy Schools Award is som ething that we give out to schools who demonstrate that they are consistently implementing health prom otion. And this year we were fortunate that 26 of the 32 public and priv ate schools in the primary, middle, and senior schools actually submitted Healthy School component presentations. And this was really signif icant because each school then gets a Gold Star to indicate that they are part of it, but quite importantly this yea r, for the first time, 31 individuals were nom inated as Health Champions by their schools , and eight s chool nurses who consistently supported schools in health promotions were also nominated. And I just want to encourage those who are out there listening t o appreciate that because we realise that in the schoo ls, this is where young people start to u nderstand and grow and develop their health habits, that we put a lot of emphasis on this because we cannot have healthy Bermudians if we do not have healthy chi ldren. But this year we recognised winners in health education, nutrition and environment and service component , physical education and physical education component , and also physical environment. And the Minister of Education and I continue to work toward s this whole question of development of healthy schools and education and how health and education can work together. And I would like to have the congratulations sent to these individuals. And also we were very fortunate to recognise a number of partners that work together with us, people like BF&M, Argus, Dunkley’s, [and] Barritt’s. and you keep forgetting that we do not . . . we talk about water and we talk about healthy drinks, and in the schools now they are only drinking water or nonsweetened pure drinks or fruit juices. So we are all in this trying to change the habit and this was a good way to recognise them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Any other Honourable Member care to speak? 2040 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Chair will now recognise the Mem ber from constituency 18, MP David Burt. You have the floor.
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, I would like to be associated with the remarks for Mrs. Muriel Richar dson. I had t he privilege of serving with her on the Bermuda Tourism Board, I think, in 2005 was a ppointed to that Board by the former Minister of Tourism, Renee Webb, and I …
Mr. Speaker, I would like to be associated with the remarks for Mrs. Muriel Richar dson. I had t he privilege of serving with her on the Bermuda Tourism Board, I think, in 2005 was a ppointed to that Board by the former Minister of Tourism, Renee Webb, and I always found her to be extremely capable and, as has been expressed by other Members, had excel lent ideas and showed her passion for Bermuda and its tourism product. She will certainly, without question, be missed, but her long c areer—
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. E. David BurtPardon me? Yes. Yes. Her long career in tourism is something that sho uld certainly be celebrated. Mr. Speaker, on a sadder note, I would like to ask that the House send condolences to the family of one of my constituents who passed away a couple of weeks ago. Oswald …
Pardon me? Yes. Yes. Her long career in tourism is something that sho uld certainly be celebrated. Mr. Speaker, on a sadder note, I would like to ask that the House send condolences to the family of one of my constituents who passed away a couple of weeks ago. Oswald Jerome Lindsay, better known as “Jerry” Lindsay, passed a way on May 25 th.
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. E. David BurtSorry, I shall associate the entire House with those remarks of condolence. And, unfortunately , I missed the opportunity to give it last week, but I know that MP Wilson and m yself attended the funeral. I know that his wife, who survived him, is the, I believe, the aunt …
Sorry, I shall associate the entire House with those remarks of condolence. And, unfortunately , I missed the opportunity to give it last week, but I know that MP Wilson and m yself attended the funeral. I know that his wife, who survived him, is the, I believe, the aunt of MP Wilson, and of course they are my constituents in Pembroke West Central. As I said, he was my constituent and before his untimely passing I did have an opportunity to see him and visit him while he was in Agape House. And I will never forget the words which he shared with me in making sure that we continue to do what we can do to improve our country and focus on solving the problems. Anyone who knew Jerry would know that he was incredibly outspoken and would not at any point in time hesitate to give you [a piece of] his mind. And I will remember that during the last election while I was canvassing in Pembroke West Central he did give me a whole lot of his mind, but at the end of the day I managed to . . . I know that I had his support and he was always someone who would, and I could rely on, to give me honest and frank advice. So he will be certainly missed. I just want to send condolences to his family. It was a wonderful home -going service, but cond olences to his family, and especially his surviving wife. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. Any other Honourable Members care to speak? So that concludes Congratulatory and Obit uary S peeches. MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. NOTICE OF MOTIONS FOR THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE ON MATTERS OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. INTRODUCTION OF BI LLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat brings us to Introduction of Bills. And the Chair will first recognise the Honourable Attorney General , T. G. Moniz. You have the floor. FIRST READING S CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT BILL 2016 Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am introducing the following Bill for its first …
That brings us to Introduction of Bills. And the Chair will first recognise the Honourable Attorney General , T. G. Moniz. You have the floor.
FIRST READING S
CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT BILL 2016
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting: Criminal Code Amendment Bill 2016.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I am obliged. And I am hol ding the other two matters for —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh, yes, okay. You will do the two matters for Dr. Gibbons? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Carry on, please, Attorney General . Bermuda House of Assembly BERMUDA CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY BILL 2016 Hon. Trevor G. M oniz: I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting: Bermuda …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. BERMUDA SHIPPING AND MARITIME AUTHORITY BILL 2016 Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting: Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority Bill 2016.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much, Mini ster Attorney General . Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I am obliged. OPPOSITION BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise M. A. Weeks from constituency 16. FIRST READING PUBLIC HOLIDAYS AMENDMENT ACT 2016
Mr. Michael A. WeeksThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Sp eaker, I move for leave to introduce the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much. The Public Holidays Amendment Act 2016. Thank you. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. NOTICES OF MOTIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ORDERS OF THE DAY
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOrder No. 1 is car ried over. Order No. 2 is carried over. Order No. 3 . . . I need the Minister, if a Minister would get up and withdraw this because under Standing Order 48, I would appreciate that. He should . . . the Minister should have …
Order No. 1 is car ried over. Order No. 2 is carried over. Order No. 3 . . . I need the Minister, if a Minister would get up and withdraw this because under Standing Order 48, I would appreciate that. He should . . . the Minister should have been here to ask that this be wit hdrawn. You see it was on the . . . it was re- tabled today, but the Minister is here now, it looks like it. Yes, carry on, Minister.
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move that we withdraw . . . where is it?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, withdraw Order No. 3 under Standing Order 48, that will do it. SALE AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT OF THE HARRINGTON SOUND POST OFFICE [Withdrawn, Standing Order 48] Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Under Standing Order 48, I withdraw Order No. 3.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you very much. [Withdrawn]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe move now to Order No. 4, Consi deration of Hotels Concession (Elbow Beach Hotel) Order 2016 in the name of the Junior Minister of Tourism. The Chair will recognise the Junior Minister of Tourism. Junior Minister Kenneth Bascome, you have the floor. DRAFT ORDER HOTELS CONCESSION (ELBOW BEACH HOTEL) …
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerGood afternoon. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Good afternoon to my ho nourable colleagues and good afternoon to the listening audience. Mr. Speaker, the Order before this Honourable House relates to the Elbow Beach Hotel. Honourable Members will be reminded that the aim of the Hotel Concessions Act 2000 is to …
Good afternoon.
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Good afternoon to my ho nourable colleagues and good afternoon to the listening audience. Mr. Speaker, the Order before this Honourable House relates to the Elbow Beach Hotel. Honourable Members will be reminded that the aim of the Hotel Concessions Act 2000 is to improve the ov erall tourism product by affording tax relief to hoteliers who reinvest in their properties through refurbishment and development. Mr. Speaker, the Elbow Beach Hotel is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is located on the South Shore in Pa get. The Order before this Honourable House is to provide concession relief to a hotel which closed down 133 rooms of its licensed 2042 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly inventory in the main hotel on 31 March 2010. This was due to the downturn in the economy and the lack of visitation that Ber muda experienced. In the last eight years since then the Elbow Beach Hotel has op-erated at a financial loss year after year with only 102 licensed rooms in its current operations. Mr. Speaker, I stand before this H onourable House today to say that finally , due to the economic growth being materialised in Bermuda, the future is looking brighter and the owner is willing to reinvest and redevelop the Elbow Beach Hotel product and make way for 68 additional luxury suites to the hotel inventory in the main buil ding. This will be achieved by the combining of two or three guest rooms together, all with oceanfront facing views. Further, Mr. Speaker, the owner will refurbish the existing 102 rooms on the grounds of the property along with all the public spaces, bri nging back the much loved hotel lobby bar and much- needed meeting space , and the main hotel restaurant where the former Seahorse Grill was located. Mr. Speaker, the owner has committed to this project starting upon the Order being law and in time to meet the demand of the America’s Cup in June 2017 and beyond. Mr. Speaker, these concessions have ince ntivised the owner to move forward with these redevelopment plans and we are assured that the redeve lopment would not have taken place without access to these concessions. The owner has lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the years in the Elbow Beach property and has thought of closing it down completely , and he was prepared to ride out the storm until a new purpose for the hotel was envisioned. Mr. Speaker, this would have had a devastating effect on the Bermuda reputation as a world- class tourism destination, our economy, Bermuda jobs, and the social fabric of the property that we have all grown accustomed to. Mr. Speaker, it is important that Bermuda become a partner at the table and incentivise tax reliefs for Elbow Beach Hotel. This H onourable House will note that it has become customary on a global level to provide tax relief to attract foreign investment into countries that rely on tourism. Bermuda must be wil ling to work with the owners and developers who wish to invest or reinvest in our local product that ultimately provides employment opportunities for Bermudians. Mr. Speaker, the owner intends to hire up to 70 construction workers, designers, installers, and local vendors to meet the demand required in order to be ready for June 2017. The hotel will remain open during the course of the redevelopment. Upon the pr oject being completed the hotel will create up to 30 new Bermudian jobs. Mr. Speaker, the owner has made a commi tment to invest another $38,433,000 into the refur-bishment and the redevelopment of the property to help bring it back to a full service luxury resort which the Elbow Beach Hotel reputation was originally built on. Mr. Speaker, this Order provides for maximum concessions in the amount of $11,850,000 subject to conditions, which is calculated on the project’s value of the redevelopment improvement. This commitment to the Elbow Beach Hotel is crucial to sustaining Bermuda’s tour ism product for future generations. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, we now move to section C. Section C explains, the Hotel Concessions Order 3 of the —
[Inaudible interjection and crosstalk ]
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I ask for your directions. Thank you, sir.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: When they quiet down, Mr. Speaker, I will proceed. Hotel Concessions Order s ection 3 of the [H otels] Concession Act 2000 , in respect of the Elbow Beach Hote l redevelopment, it is deemed to be in the national economic interest of Bermuda. [Clause] 1 is the standard citation clause. [Clause] 2 is the interpretation clause. [Clause] 3 sets out the owner’s entitlement to concession. [Clause] 3(1)(a) relates to the relief from Customs Duty until the year after the hotel’s opening. [Clause] 3(1)(b) , land tax relief exemption for five years from the land tax otherwise payable in r espect of the hotel up to an amount not exceeding $170,000 in each year of the assess ment . [Clause] 3(1)(c) , Hotel Occupancy Tax 1, exemption for five years from the hotel occupancy tax otherwise payable in respect of the hotel for an amount equal to the sum expended by the hotel for development and marketing the hotel up to an amount not exceeding $1,840,000 in each year of the assessment . [Clause] 3(1)(d) , Hotel Occupancy Tax II, exemption for five years from hotel occupancy tax ot herwise payable in respect of the hotel for an amount equal to the sum expended by the hotel on entertai nment provided by Bermudian entertainers up to an amount not exceeding $160,000 in each of the years of assessment . [Clause] 3(1)(e) , payroll tax relief , exemption for five years from the employer’s share of the employment tax otherwise payable in respect of persons employed by the hotel for an amount equal to the sum expended by the hotel on training Bermudian emplo yees to an amount not exceeding $200,000 in each of the years of assessment.
Bermuda House of Assembly [Clause] 4 sets out the terms and conditions required for the owner to qualify for the various co ncession applications are provided with guidelines which sets out these conditions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any other Honourable Member care to speak? The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 15, MP Walter Roban. You have the floor.
Mr. Walter H. RobanThank you, Mr. Speaker. I am holding for the Honourable Member Mr. Jamahl Simmons —
Mr. Walter H. RobanFirst, I would like to say that we are generally supportive of these measures. We on this side in the PLP remain supportive of the system with the ability to award appropriate concession pac kages to those who wi sh to invest in Bermuda in the tourism product. This was …
First, I would like to say that we are generally supportive of these measures. We on this side in the PLP remain supportive of the system with the ability to award appropriate concession pac kages to those who wi sh to invest in Bermuda in the tourism product. This was devised, as the Junior Mi nister said, this was devised as a system to do just that , to ensure the investment of our product, the promotion of our product, and most importantly the involvement of Berm udians in the product. We note that those who own the Elbow Beach have, perhaps, for some time, Mr. Speaker, been ex-periencing some difficulties with their property. There has been, obviously, a scaling back of its operation in recent years , and this has been of concern I think to all of us. But we are encouraged that this concession package which is being brought to the House today by the Honourable Junior Minister is a symbol of . . . there is an effort now to perhaps renew their faith — the owners —in the hotel and in Bermuda and to rei nvest. We are pleased with that. We do have some concerns though that this will be a sustainable investment, that it will genuinely go to seeing a reinvigoration of that property as the Junior Minister has outlined, a substantial amount of the rooms had been brought offline, but as has been outlined in this Order there seems to be a plan to co nsolidate and rejuvenate some of their room stock from closed and make it into respectable accommodation for any future visitors. The investment that seems to be proposed is somewhere in the region of $40 million and we have heard that the Prince or the Saudi family who have ownership of the hotel seem to have been encour-aged that the future America’s Cup events will perhaps contribute t o some opportunity for them in the avenue of this hotel being operational and compl e-menting, clearly, what will be a need for this country to have rooms available for any future visitors for next year’s event. It is very clear, Mr. Speaker, that right now , as it stands, we may not have enough room space for any interested persons to visit this country during the America’s Cup period next year. And certainly if an Elbow Beach Hotel can be available, that will be hel pful. So we are supportive of these efforts by the Government to work with the owners to provide a concession package that will seemingly assist them with taking a property, which all reports are that they have had a considerable loss on, with getting in a position, Mr. Speaker, that will afford some opportunity for it to complement Bermuda’s tourism product. And we hope that this investment will have a life beyond next year because it seems to have been . . . the incentive is that with the America’s Cup there will be an opportunity. Well, let us hope that whatever is put in , and we note the concessions, Mr. Speaker, which have been outlined for this particular property , as is in clause 3, namely l and tax concession up to the amount not exceeding $170,000 in each year of assessment (and these are for five -year periods of time); hotel occupancy not exceeding $1.84 million; the same in reference to hotel occupancy not exceeding $160,000 with this being set against any actual i nvestment in entertainment. Now, I did not hear the Honourable Junior Minis ter talk about what sort of entertainment options we are going to see available at a future redeveloped Elbow Beach. I think it is important for us to perhaps know more. We all know that there has been a cha llenge, Mr. Speaker, in the past with our local ente rtainers having the options and opportunities to per-form in our local hotels. Now , if this concession is b eing used to set against any possible investment in en-tertainment by the owners . . . I think we ask, perhaps, if it is possible, at this junction , for the Junior Minister to let us know . . . well, what is the expectation that is to happen there around entertainment? Because en-tertainment does need avenues and venues where our entertainers can perform and if the Elbow Beach, which is now closed to t hat opportunity, is going to be open, I think we should know what the owners have in mind if that information is available to the Honourable Junior Minister. We also see, Mr. Speaker, that there is going to be further exemption in payroll tax expended by t he hotel on training for Bermudian employees. I have a couple of things to say on that, Mr. Speaker. This is clearly something of importance, but I get the impression sometimes, Mr. Speaker, that this is put in almost as a bit of , what I can say . . . just for superficial treatment to kind of . . . almost like an invitation to treat, just a sweetener to get the actual candy that is required, or to get the reward that is required. It is a 2044 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly sweetener to get the reward rather than to truly follow through. And m y honourable colleague who sits in constituency 21 has used the word “appeasement.” Perhaps that is an appropriate word, perhaps it is not. But I do get the impression, as we have seen over the years, that investors who go after these concessions packages say they are going to do training, talk about training, and might even put a picture in that they are going to do training, but when you look at the complexion and the situation with our hotel industry right now, Mr. Speaker, that is not necessarily what m any of the Bermudians are experiencing. They are not ex-periencing properties that have made that investment in a way that has ensured that Bermudians are vibrant and active in the industry. So beyond what I would say is the number — and the Honourable Junior Minister mentioned this number —30 new jobs . Well, that to me does not sound like a lot. But I will perhaps take the advice of some other persons in this House, like the Honourable Member who sits in constituency 5 who has great experience in the visitor i ndustry, perhaps he may have something to say about that, whether he thinks that 30 jobs is satisfactory . . . that they will possibly come out of this concession, I do not know. I will wait for that Honourable Member to perhaps opine on this himself or other Members on this side. I am not so sure if 30 jobs is enough. Now , I am not trying to say this in any way being critical of this C oncession Act, because as I said before, we are generally supportive, but my co ncern–– and the concern of Members on this s ide, and I am sure my honourable colleague who I am holding for who sits in constituency 33 would also be concerned–– is that this is not just a lip service provision, but that we are [actually] going to see jobs created. And even if the Honourable Junior Minister can say what types of jobs he believes that the owners have in mind that might be added, outside of what is already available, what will be the new jobs? What types of jobs are they? Are they jobs in the administrative side? Will there be also jobs in other aspects of the hotel operation once these renovations, which will be the benefit of these concessions, are put in place? So we support any efforts, Mr. Speaker, let us make it clear, to train anyone. One additional Ber-mudian trained in the hotel industry is one additional worker, so we are happy with that. But is 30 enough? Is 30 really representative of the incentive that we are proposing here? I will leave that to be debated by ot hers in this House and, perhaps, the value of that will be further appreciated. We certainly support the $38 million or $40 million or more that the hoteliers are looking to invest and we do hope that, Mr. Speaker, on this particular measure . . . and I am not going to cover everything that I might want to speak on, I am sure there are other Members who may have something to say on some other issues around these concession orders. We do hope that the enforcement measures around these concessions will be aggressively followed by those responsible in the Ministry of Touris m. I can say that, without getting into any detail about some other concessions packages we have seen brought to this House, I am not so sure that they have fulfilled the aspirations that were put behind them or even the . . . I would say the pitch that was given to this House as to their merit with some other properties that the Government often talks about as a part of what they are trying to bring into place or have brought into place over these last three years. Some of the other proper-ties that have had the benefit of the concessions , we are not so sure that these concessions have fulfilled the aspirations, at least that we felt, that those concessions should be fulfilling or bringing about, partic ularly for Bermudians in the tourism industry. Because , ultimately , we want to see Bermudians working, we want to see Bermudians providing top- class services, we want to see Bermudians invested in tourism. We do not want Bermudians to be sidelined spectators or just commentators on Bermuda tourism, we want them totally invested as workers, as managers, even as owners. So, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat. I have I believe expressed our aspirations around this Order. We are supportive of this Order. We do hope that it, over the next five years, this does bring about a rej uvenation, an expansion of activity on the property that is the Elbow Beach, it brings about a sustainable commitment to the property from the owner which arguably, Mr. Speaker, in recent years as the Minister said, since about 2010 or so, has been in decline, that it comes . . . it brings about a sustainable investment, sustainable commitment, a sustainable operation that will go beyond the five years of the actual concessions package, including the America’s Cup, which seems to have been, as I said, to have been the sweetener that brought the owners to the table. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I will sit down and hear what everyone else has to say. Thank you very much.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognis e the Learned Member from constituency 31, MP Shawn Crockwell. You have the floor.
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on this occasion on this Concession Order for Elbow Beach. Yet again this H onourable House is debating and hop efully passing a concession order which bodes well for tourism in Bermuda. It bodes well for our economy , …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise on this occasion on this Concession Order for Elbow Beach. Yet again this H onourable House is debating and hop efully passing a concession order which bodes well for tourism in Bermuda. It bodes well for our economy , and as I said , the last time we dealt with a concession order, I believe that tourism is turning the corner, Mr. Speaker. We see that evidenced in the increase of air arrivals in the first quarter of this year. We see that evidenced in the confidence of owners when they are
Bermuda House of Assembly looking to provide redevelopment for their hotels. And I think that that only bodes well for the future of Bermuda tourism. No one can deny that the Elbow Beach Hotel is probably the most historic hotel —one of the most historic hotels —in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker. I can recall in the ’80s that hotel . . . if you wanted to stay som ewhere, like if you were going to do something special and you were staying at the Elbow Beach, then you were staying in the best hotel. That was the hotel , and it is unfortunate that it has fallen into the state that it is in over the years, Mr. Speaker, because it sits on probably the most gorgeous beach property in Bermuda. If I can tell you the number of individuals that . . . potential investors that came to Bermuda looking to invest, and they always would go to that strip. That strip that involves Coco Reef, Elbow Beach, and Hor izons, Mr . Speaker, they say anywhere in the world that would be probably the most dynamic hotel resort spot. It is that gorgeous. And what people love about the hotel, particularly in the cottages, Mr. Speaker, is that they can just get up in the morning, walk out of their room, and walk right onto the beach. I mean, what an experience to have while you are on vacation in paradise. And so it is a hotel that we need to get back to its old glory and so this certainly could be the first step in doing that. And so to provide the $11 million con-cessions today is not just the Government supporting the proposed development, it is the Government supporting a hotel that it recognises needs to be put back into the jewel that it once was. And so . . . and also we are saying t o the owners, Thank you for the years of subsidising that hotel . As the Junior Minister stated, for many years the owners had to come up and pay for the deficit that it was running. So, again, this is i mportant that they know that the Government —and when I say the Government , I am talking about this entire House because I appreciate the comments of the Member who just spoke all in support of passing this Concession Order. When you think of the loss of 130- plus rooms, Mr. Speaker, and then you look at the r evenue loss of the hotel over the last 10 years, then you can under-stand why it is important for hotels themselves to have sufficient capacity. They need that capacity in order to be competitive. And as well, Mr. Speaker, it speaks to the fact that we have lost over 50 per cent of our i nventory over the last 20- odd years. And as someone spoke in the House, we are looking to address the imminent problem we are going to have come next year when we host the America’s Cup, which is going to be the most eminent event that we have ever hosted in this country, which will attract tens of tho usands of people to our shores at a time when we are already at full capacity. And so, you know, we have to figure out how we are going to be able to house these individuals when they get here. And I am sure the Government continues to work on that solution. But by adding now 100, I believe it is going to be a refurbishment of 102 rooms, and there will be an addition of 68 rooms, that is going to help, Mr. Speaker. And then later on today we are looking at another concession order where we are going to be adding more capacity. Not as much, but every hotel room will matter. And so for that reason I think this Honourable House has to wrap its arms around this particular concession order. And hopefully the hotel can get on quite quickly with the development. Last night I was at an event at the Grotto Bay Hotel and I do not understand why, Mr. Speaker, I do not go there more often because it is literally two mi nutes from my home, and it is such a . . . that is a stunning property as well. The way it is laid out, it is laid out so beautifully, Mr. Speaker, and they do extremely well there. It is probably the most successful hotel in Bermuda in terms of occupancy —annual occ upancy —and i n terms of the revenues that it makes on an annual basis. And so I always joke with JP and others at Tucker’s Point , last night when I was there I was talking to one of the managers and I said, You’ve got to share your secret with the other hotel owners. Now, I will tell you from my vantage point, one of the reasons why it is successful is because it has quite a few rooms —over 200 rooms —in that property. So, again, you know , when it comes down to the vo lume of rooms, it is important that you have volume in order to make sufficient profit. But when you have volume, Mr. Speaker, then you can have a reasonable price point . Okay? And what Grotto Bay has done, and I think it is a formula that Elbow Beach can adopt, they have come up with the all -inclusive approac h, Mr. Speaker, and that is what today’s traveller wants. Now, you do not get the Tucker’s Point crowd there, you are not going to get the Fairmont Hamilton crowd there, but when you fill your hotel and you have the crowd that likes to know that , I’m gonna pay one bill and it’s gonna cover my basics . Okay? That is attractive to today’s middle class traveller. And they have come up with a formula there that has worked, and I think that other hotel owners need to start thinking out of the box , because, yes, Bermuda in itself is the destination. So when you go to other jurisdictions like Jamaica and other countries where the actual r esort is a destination, Bermuda is a destination. So when we have our guests come here, they go and travel the entire Island because Bermuda as a whole is a destination, but . . . but owners have to, you know, recognise what is working. And what is working in Jamaica are all -inclusive hotels, and what is working here . . . the hotel that is doing extremely well here in Bermuda is a hotel that has adopted a form of an all - inclusive approach. So, hopefully , there can be others that can look at that and try . . . and I think the layout of Elbow Beach lends itself well to that type of formula. 2046 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Now, Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member who just took his seat was asking questions in relation to the jobs that will be created as a result of this construction. My information is that there will be 70 new jobs—construction jobs —that will be created. And of course it is our mandate and it is this Parliament’s mandate, I think it should be our number -one objective, to create jobs for our people. And so, again, irr espective of whether or not we think it is commensurate to the concessions, if you ask the gentleman who is going to get that job on the construction site or the woman who is going to get that job on the construc-tion site, they will think that it is indeed worth it. So it will be 70 jobs in construction, 30 new hotel jobs once the redevelopment has been completed. And the Honourable Member has already opined that he does not think that that is enough, but when you combine the two, that is 100 jobs that will be created— 30 longterm jobs —and then this would be in the areas of housekeeping, food and beverages, and the like. So a property that has not had redevelopment for a very long time, Mr. Speaker, now is looking to revamp its property, create jobs, and of course have these developments done by the America’s Cup, which is important for our sense of jurisdiction because we need the capacity, I think are all compelling reasons to support this Concession Order. And, again, hotels and . . . you know , I know the general manager very well, he is , in my view, a very qualified individual . He has come down to try and turn Elbow Beach around. I know that he has a great passion for that hotel and a great passion for Bermuda and he sees the potential that we have in this country. And the potential is there, Mr. Speaker, but we have to make sure that we put the necessary i ngredients in place to make sure that it is a success. So I would like to congratulate the Junior Mi nister for getting it here today and I encourage all Members to support this as it is for the benefit of the country. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5, MP Derrick Burgess. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [While] our previous speaker on this side of the House has stated that we support the Bill, I have some concerns …
All right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5, MP Derrick Burgess.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [While] our previous speaker on this side of the House has stated that we support the Bill, I have some concerns about this Bill. Mr. Speaker, in the Bill when we talk about Bermudian entertainers , well, the current Minister and previous Minister of Immigration certainly did not have any . . . really did not have much admiration as far as employment in the hotels for local entertainers. He put the local entertainers and the foreign entertainers on the same playing field, the same level. And that should not be because this . . . the Hotels Concession Act that was first introduced by the PLP, the intent, was to give the local entertainers the advantage. And under the present Government that is not so, under the present Minister who was, again, the Minister for Immigration, I am sure he is going to take his current policy with him in regards to entertai ners, Mr. Speaker. And also, Mr. Speaker, the training of Bermudians . . . even though it is the same language that we had in our B ill, there is no audit on what type of training, where the training is going to take place, how long the training is for Ber mudians, because up until this point I have not seen, or I do not know of any, numbers that have come back to us from hotels that , based on this Act , would train 20 Bermudians or so, or will send six Bermudians away for further education to become managers . We have not seen that, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, the reason why I am concerned about the training and the employment of our entertainers is because, as you can recall, the Government brought to this House a Bill for the Pink Beach to hire 50 per cent . . . to give them permission to hire , 50 per cent of their employees would be nonBermudians. Mr. Speaker, in a hotel the size of Pink Beach the small hotels pride themselves . . . have prided themselves in that they had the highest percentage of Berm udians in their properties, some as high as 98 per cent at one time. And, Mr. Speaker, as my honourable cousin, Jeff Sousa, stated yesterday in another place that he has marvelled—not his exact words, I am paraphrasing—that when he went to Reefs what he sa w. Now , if David Dodwell can run a hotel with a majority of Bermudians, why can not the others? What . . . you know, it is no secret. And David Dodwell’s hotel , the Reefs, they continuously get awards —international awards —not only about the property, because you know, it is the staff also because you can have a great property, but if you have got bad staff [and] the hotel looks dirty, it looks . . . it is not fashionable for anybody to go there. So his grades that he is getting from overseas, the high grades, the recognition, it is the hotel and the staff , they compl ement each other. And, again, if he can do it others can do it. Mr. Speaker, again, they say 70 construction jobs. You know , I am not sure if 80 per cent of those jobs can be Bermudians, just by the mere fact of what they introduce for Pink Beach. So we have some . . . we have some concerns about that. And also I am concerned about . . . even with anybody getting a tax exemption. I really feel that be-fore any establishment can get a tax exemption , they need to clear up their arrears , because in the year ending March 31, 2016, five hotels were in arrears of over half a million dollars in taxes. Now why should . . . now, I do not know if it is Elbow Beach, they have
Bermuda House of Assembly not named with that. All right? It is five of them . But, Mr. Speaker, we should not be giving anybody any tax exemption, whether it be a hotel or anyone else, until their arrears are cleared up. And people have had these exemptions and they are still in arrears. So that has to be looked at seriously because normally you are not going to get any more loans from a bank unless you clear up your arrears. And if you are at the bank and you are in arrears, you probably will not get another loan or any exemptions. So that part of it must —must —be cleared up, and it needs to be cleared up immediately, Mr. Speaker. Now, Mr. Speaker, just a little bit of history, you know Elbow Beach back in the ’80s and ’90s was the most successful hotel in Bermuda. And at that time they had over 300 rooms. Now that number has decreased considerably. I am sorry to hear that they are in such a financial position as they are because that location is one of the best you can find anywhere in the world other than the locations down in Hamilton Parish, Mr. Speaker. But the y . . . I really do not . . . I still do not understand why they are not doing so well, particularly with their history. And when they had those 300- plus rooms , it was not as attractive as it is right now because that hotel in those days, part of it was wo oden and plastered over it, you know, so they have done some great improvements there. I am glad that the owners have decided to put $40 million into it because that hotel, again, is in probably one of the best—other than in Hamilton Parish— if it was only in Hamilton Parish , then it would be probably the best location in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker, we support the Bill but I would ask that the Junior Minister take the message back as he is bringing the message to us that these things have to be a ddressed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. T hank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood afternoon to you. I just wanted to give you time.
Mrs. Susan E. JacksonThank you. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity, and I will do this every chance I get, to encourage people to prepare themselves for the amount of e mployment that is coming their way. So today is a most productive day with the successful passing of these two …
Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity, and I will do this every chance I get, to encourage people to prepare themselves for the amount of e mployment that is coming their way. So today is a most productive day with the successful passing of these two concession orders. And I am looking forward to these passing. And with that it provides an opportunity for Bermudians to look at employment. Now in my personal opinion, Mr. Speaker, it i s not enough to sit back and wait. As soon as these kinds of announcements are made, this is the time when Bermudians have the space and the opportunity to sit and contemplate what their commitment is going to be as far as employment moving forward. Now, we know already . . . the Member who just spoke ahead of me has already —the former Mi nister—has already stated what kinds of jobs are going to be available. So, if you are in the construction, the renovation, the design business, then start to look at what that commitment is going to look like for you and prepare yourself to make application for those jobs once they become available. And the same applies to anything in the hospitality industry. And I understand that this is a new generation and I would like to just share with the public that this is an opportunity for us as Bermudians to really take pride in what we do. This is our chance for us to really become the hosts that are owning Bermuda and are maintaining our high standards of integrity and pride, and we have to start to exhibit that in our daily activ ities. If someone chooses to make application to work on a property such as Elbow Beach, which time and time again on both sides of the House has been de-scribed as probably the most beautiful piece of real estate on the I sland, to be able to work there on a daily basis, in my personal opinion—someone who is stuck inside the four walls and rarely are the windows open to even have a view out at our beautiful country—if I had an opportunity personally, Mr. Speaker, to work on a property like that, I would imagine that it would be most fulfilling on any given day to have a smile on your face and to want to host and take care of and give a wonderful experience to anybody who is paying an awful lot of money to come and share their free time with us. Now there was some mention, Mr. Speaker, about all -inclusive properties and I would just like to speak to that for a moment. I had this vision some time ago . . . you know, I can remember back in the day a Member ac ross the way was talking about how everybody has got their own vision about what tourism should look like. Well , when it comes to the all - inclusiveness and that concept, one of my visions was that it would be really nice if somehow we could coor-dinate some of our scenic sightseeing attractions into 2048 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the hotel all -inclusive package. So, as the previous Member ahead of me was mentioning, people come to Bermuda because they want the full experience. They do not come and hide out at the hotel and all they do is stay on the property at the hotel and go to that beach and that is all they do. People who come to Bermuda want to get out there, they do want to tour, they want to get on the local buses, they want to ex-plore and enjoy the entire I sland. So we should have entrepreneurial activities going on in Bermuda, again another opportunity for Bermudians to create businesses and revenue and income for themselves, [they could be part] of an all - inclusive scenario. Some of the sightseeing or entr epreneurial experiences could be a part of the pac kage. So you know whether it is that you, as part of your price, you could go to Dockyard and enjoy some of the more artistic experiences that are available in Bermuda, whether it is glass blowing or pottery or whatever, and that these experiences, especially those that require some sort of cover charge, would be a part of your package and you would have a free pass to get in. And, you know , what opportunities does that open up for Bermuda as a package deal for our visitors? But I am going to leave that on the table because it is still a vision in motion, but it is something to give some thought to. Now before I sit down I am going to give a plug and I have to disclose that I have just recently been asked to sit on the Board of Governors for the Bermuda College, and at the last meeting that we had, which was about a week ago, we had a very comprehensive presentation from the section of the Bermuda College called PACE , and PACE actually provides more professional training to Bermudians who are looking in particular to change—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet the folks listening know what PACE stands for.
Mrs. Susan E. JacksonNo. No, PACE is like Pr ofessional Accreditation and Certification in Education [sic]. . . something like that —PACE . Yes? I got it ; it came to me. Got it. [Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Susan E. JacksonYes. And so . . . and yeah, so hey , if this turns into collaboration that is great. I would encourage, I would encourage anyone who would like to know more about the industries, whether it is construction through to hospitality, that they give the Bermuda College a call, …
Yes. And so . . . and yeah, so hey , if this turns into collaboration that is great. I would encourage, I would encourage anyone who would like to know more about the industries, whether it is construction through to hospitality, that they give the Bermuda College a call, ask to speak to any member in the PACE department (P-A-C-E) and have a chat. Because I say , again, as I take my seat, Mr. Speaker, this is the time for all of us to prepare. T his is the time to dream . . . think about what it is you would like to do, set your goals , and then go for it. And one of the greatest places to start would be at the Bermuda College where, I believe, they have some very good compr ehensive programmes to build confidence, build . . . hone those skills , and get us going. So I really congratulate the Junior Minister for bringing this to the House today and I certainly send out best wishes to all of those Bermudians that are prepared to commit to a career in hospitality or con-struction, or any of the other accompanying professions that will go along and support these hotels as they redevelop, get back on their feet, and start to create a wonderful vacation experience for our vis itors. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any other Honourable Members care to speak? The Chair will recognise the Minister of Home Affairs , Minister Gordon- Pamplin. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have the floor. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, it would be remiss of me to not stand to my feet to be able to give plaudits to the Junior Minister for bringing this Hotels Concession Order before the H onourable House today for our debate and discussion. …
You have the floor. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, it would be remiss of me to not stand to my feet to be able to give plaudits to the Junior Minister for bringing this Hotels Concession Order before the H onourable House today for our debate and discussion. I think what is important, Mr. Speaker, and I will be very brief, is that the key to s uccess within the hotel industry is going to be a robust immigration policy. And I say that because to the extent that we may not have sufficient Bermudians to be able to fulfil the positions that exist, we want to ensure that at the very least Bermudians have put themselves out and acqui tted themselves well enough so that they cannot be overlooked. And I think that I cannot mention this enough, and the Honourable Member who just took her seat from constituency 20 mentioned it, this is the opportunity for us to prepare ourselves, both in terms of an employee status as well as an entrepreneurial status. So, you know , we heard that the Opposition had no objection to the Concession Order. They had questions and we appreciate that and we always want to be able to examine the areas where we do have cooperation and collaboration and agreement , and to
Bermuda House of Assembly the extent where there are challenges and questions we want to be able to address those effectively. So we do know that Workforce Development is kind of . . . the Job Board is the place where Bermudians will be able to go to see what jobs are coming up and to know that they can get assistance with being able to help themselves to be able to garner the necessary employment. I did hear just a couple of observations in terms of the concessions themselves, but I think my grandmother always used to say that, you know, I f you’ve got 50 per cent of something you have got 50 per cent, but 100 per cent of nothing is still nothing. So, I think that in order for us to have succes s and to see the property owners investing in these properties, it is important for us to not just offer concessions from a Bermuda perspective, but recognise that the capital that is going into hotel development is capital that has competition. So Members do not . . . you know , business owners, hotel owners, do not necessarily have to put their capital here in Bermuda, and if we do not make it attractive enough they may consider whether their money would be getting a better return on their investment if they developed elsewhere. So it is very important that we show ourselves —
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —it is very impo rtant that we show ourselves to be equally —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member s, Honourable Member s— Hon. Patr icia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —competitive with other jurisdictions. So to have these hotel conces-sions, I believe, is critical. We heard the Honourable Member express concern with respect to entertainment and I can assure the Honourable Member that, as this has been a …
Honourable Member s, Honourable Member s— Hon. Patr icia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —competitive with other jurisdictions. So to have these hotel conces-sions, I believe, is critical. We heard the Honourable Member express concern with respect to entertainment and I can assure the Honourable Member that, as this has been a vexatious issue over time, it is something with which we are actively contemplating and considering to make sure that we do not have the types of negativity coming out and lack of opportunity for Bermudians that has existed over many years. And I think that it is just important to understand, Mr. Speaker, that we will continue to ensure that there are robust controls that are put into place, that we have the application process that reveals what it is that Bermudians ought to be able to expect when they make applications for jobs in these hotels. I know the Honourable Member was a little cynical in saying you know, There may be 70 jobs, well what kind of jobs are there gonna be? And you know if we cannot find ourselves in a position where the majori ty of jobs are being able to be held by Bermudians, I believe we will be failing. And I think that the culture must be that because somebody makes an application , you know , because somebody foreign makes an application, there cannot be a presumption that t hey are the best person for that particular pos ition. So these are the sorts of things that we are looking at very carefully, as files come for review on a weekly basis, to ensure that to the extent possible Bermudians who are qualified will be able to get the necessary jobs that are being advertised. In addition, those who find themselves wanting in terms of the level of qualifications that are being requested, that we have an obligation through all of our systems and processes to make sure that our people are well equipped and that we will ensure that jobs are given to Bermudians to the extent that Bermudians qualify. I would also encourage, Mr. Speaker, that if somebody feels that they have been hard done by in an interview process or if they have failed to be interviewed for an application which they have made, I implore them to make that information known to the department. Very frequently, and in fact just this very past week, I had the opportunity to have discussions with an individual who said, Well, I went for an interview and I was told that they were really not interviewing me for the job that was being advertised, but they were interviewing me with the idea that they could put my name down on their records for future purposes. And, Mr. Speaker, that to my mind is disingenuous of anybody who would be advertising for a job. But I want . . . it is important to know that if people are experiencing that sort of thing in this day and age, please make their situations known to the department because it is only then that we can do something about it. So with that, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see this Concession Order come before this H onourable House and I look forward to the further success, the continued success, of this particular hotel property so that they can be up and running, that we have the additional stock and capacity leading up to the America’s Cup in 2017. And further, after that, Mr. Speaker, is what you find is that when people go to a particular destination and they have a good experience, i t gives them the impetus to return. So we are not looking just to say let us do everything that we need to provide hotel stock, room stock, for 2017, but we want that repetitive business , the visitors to be enamoured so much with Bermuda such that we can e nsure that those people who come for 2017 will return in 20 18 and 2019 and 2020 so that we continue to have just ification of the investment that the hotel owners have made in their properties and the concessions that Government is offering as a result. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6, MP Wayne Furbert. 2050 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly And if the Sergean t-at-Arms , if I could see you for a second, please, yes. So …
All right. Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6, MP Wayne Furbert. 2050 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly And if the Sergean t-at-Arms , if I could see you for a second, please, yes. So carry on, Honourable Member.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also like to stand and . . . first of all , I would like to applaud the owners of this particular hotel, as the former Minister has said, over the years they have s pent . . . I do not think there has been a year that has gone by where they have [not] sunk additional funding into the hotel to keep it alive. From the time when they first took it over, before them the hotel was receiving a significant amount of rev enue and probably the payout was pretty high. But something went wrong after that and, of course, you know our tourist numbers just dropped out of the bo ttom. And so despite them being the developers . . . not the developers, but the owners, being of signif icant means , we all know who owns this hotel. As a matter of fact I believe the son of the owner is now the current chairman of this particular hotel. So we would like to, from Parliament, applaud them for sticking in with us over the years. There is no doub t that this particular property is the . . . the crème of all the best properties in Bermuda when it comes to hotels. And you always wonder why it was not recei ving the type of income that it should. And the bottom line is that they only have “X” amount of rooms . You cannot make a . . . the many acres up there and the maintenance that goes along and the cost of running an operation like that , with the number of rooms that actually end up with. First you had the rooms on top of the hill, the main hotel, and then you also had the hotel rooms down at the bottom of the hill, and, you know , that is when things were working. But when you decrease your rooms , and I believe . . . I cannot r emember how many rooms they have right now, but it is not enough. So the room s were up to, I think , they were trying to get $900 a month —a day, sorry, $900 a day, so it became less competitive. People were not willing . . . it was not worth the $900 a room , and I think that is where they ran into a problem. So I applaud the Government for having this concession for them to develop it and I hope that it can make some pay -off. And I will tell you a story, Mr. Speaker. When we were in Government, I believe I was sitting somewhere near where the Honourable Member Pam Gordon is, I got a call and this lady was coming to —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Sorry, yes, yes. But I got a call saying that . . . from the former manager , saying that a lady had landed at the airport and was bringing a dog in and they wanted to sen d the dog and the lady back to . . . because, you know , they would not land the dog or the lady. And so I spoke to the Minister, at the time it was the Honour-able Marc Bean, and I said, Marc, we’ve got to deal with this. So we sat down, made a phone call and we got them to l and the lady and the dog up to go at Elbow Beach—and I will tell you the reason why in a few minutes. The next day I got a call from the manager again saying that the government vet was up there and was going to send the dog back because [it] had not received its shot. I said, I did not make it very clear. Tell that vet he may go back but the dog is not going back . Because at the end of the day , that lady was staying for six weeks —six weeks—up there at Elbow Beach when we knew that they n eeded the additional revenue. Six weeks . You think . . . and they were drinking champagne and eating filet mignon and everything else and I said that vet is going back to wherever he came from before that dog is going back. Because that was the lady . . . she came here for r ecuperation, she had a significant . . . I think she was just recovering out of the hospital , and she wanted a nice place to stay in Bermuda. And can you imagine if we had lost it? And that is because we were not flex ible enough (at the end of the day ) and sometimes we take a hard line because of certain policies or wha tever it is, and that is where Ministers step in and say , Hold on, this cannot be right. And so I was fortunate enough to . . . and another situation, you all remember the story about Mi-chael Jackson. Michael Jackson came here and they were having a . . . I want the Speaker to hear this one. I am not sure you remember that Michael Jackson came here and they . . . because he did not have a work permit, they locked him up down at Grotto Bay. I am not sure you remember that, Mr. Speaker. And so I went there that night looking for Michael Jackson.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I went there looking for M ichael Jackson and I got down to the —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou w ent to sing with him ? You went to sing with him? [Laughter] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, sir.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou went to sing with him? [Laughter] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: It was a song called Beat It, Mr. Speaker, it was called Beat It.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYeah . Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: And so I . . . I know one of my former staff is here so she remembers Michael Jackson. A nd we had to . . . the problem . . . I went Bermuda House of Assembly down . . . I …
Yeah . Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: And so I . . . I know one of my former staff is here so she remembers Michael Jackson. A nd we had to . . . the problem . . . I went
Bermuda House of Assembly down . . . I was sitting at Ruth Seaton James myself, the Honourable Member Glenn Blakeney was the Minister, and I was looking for the Minister of Immigration. I could not find him, looking all around, called . . . I called the Premier at the time, Paula Cox, and I r emember Paula Cox said, We can’t let them send Michael Jackson back home. All right? Wh at bad publi city, Mr. Speaker. So I went down to Grotto Bay , walked up to . . . I left that plate that night and told my wife I was going down to see Michael Jackson. I went down to Grotto Bay and the reception said Michael Jackson is in a certain room. I went down there and walk ed right in the room . All right? Now , you are not supposed to be let in because you have got the two people under house arrest, all right, because that is how they put you. I never realised it, they put you under house ar-rest and y ou cannot leave the room. I walk ed right in and I said, Listen, Michael Jackson has got to go. And so I am back and forth, called the Premier (at the end of the day ) and I am speaking to . . . there must have been at least 10 civil servants texting back and forward regarding making sure Michael Jackson is let loose, let go. Not one person would . . . and they were in high positions —high positions —so you know what department I am talking about. Finally , the Premier says, Let Michael Jackson go. I took Michael Jackson from Grotto Bay up to Southampton Princess [sic] because they were singing. He was dancing the next night —at Elbow Beach —that is wh at I was trying . . .sorry, at Elbow Beach. There was a gentleman who flew in on a pr ivate plane to celebrate his wife’s birthday —40 th birthday—he flew in about 40 people on a private plane and the surprise was to let Michael Jackson dance and sing for her the next day. I went to Elbow Beach that night to make sure that no Immigration Officer would show up at Elbow Beach to take Michael Jac kson away . It was some story, Mr. Speaker. And then I found out, you know, the person was [an impersonator]. But it was Michael Jackson as far as anybody else thought it was. And so can you imagine the story, Mr. Speaker, [if] the Bermuda Government had turned down Michael Jackson to come into Bermuda. And so you know, it was good—
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: That is right. So my point is that sometimes, Mr. Speaker, Ministers, despite some crazy policies that w e have and as long as it is not illegal, we have got to sometimes be flexible in making sure things work. And that is my . . . the whole premise. I just take the law book and turn it upside down and say , This is not supposed to hurt a Bermudian . It is not supposed to hurt the certain thing, why can . . . why cannot? And so I close down in saying, yes, it can, it cannot do it. So, we appreciate the suggestion put forward by the Government for Elbow Beach, and I hope at the end of the day that the concessions that are being put forward will make that property . . . and like I said, there is not one property in Bermuda, I think, that is better than Elbow Beach and, as a matter of fact, I think it was last year or the year before last, maybe the former Minister could confirm it, but I know that some people were interested in buying that property. It was the whole three lots —it was Elbow Beach, it was Horizons and Coco Reef —because I had a meeting with them about that , I guess the deal fell through. Horizons. . . well, I think, it was held up by —
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: And Elbow Beach, right, the whole three of them.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Elbow Beach held them up, I guess , yes. A nd they had a beautiful idea of how they were going to get Elbow Beach going again, Horizons and, of course, Coco Reef . But all three were being bought by the same developers.
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Coral Beach, sorry, Coral Beach. Coral Beach . . . I am sorr y, Horizons . And so I appreciate the investment and hopefully the investors will get the return they want in the coming years and make that a much more profitable business for Bermuda overall. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The C hair is going to recognise the Honourable and Learned Member from constituency 25, MP Mark Pettingill. You have the floor.
Mr. Mark J. PettingillThank you, Mr. Speaker, just a few brief comments. I think it is important that people understand, that the public understands, that when these concessions are given it is not like we pass it up here today and then pony on up to the hotel and give them a check …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, just a few brief comments. I think it is important that people understand, that the public understands, that when these concessions are given it is not like we pass it up here today and then pony on up to the hotel and give them a check tomorrow and say thanks a lot. That is just not how it works, just to be very clear , because I think some people are left with that impression. The concession is given at the end of the development, not at the gate. It is an incentive to actually do something and you get it as a reward once the something that you agreed to do is done. And , you know , in thi s instance, now it is a fairly onerous list and a fairly substantial investment that has to occur before any type of concessions are granted, and that 2052 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly includes a million dollars in training of Bermudians [$200,000] a year —that is a million dollars that has to be provided just in training. So it is a significant outlay in that regard with Bermudian jobs. But let me just say this, Mr. Speaker, because I hear . . . you know , we hear this in the community, people believe —well, it is the case—that the Elbow Beac h Hotel is owned by very, very wealthy individ uals. Well, pause for a second, most hotels are or are owned by companies that are ultimately owned by very wealthy individuals. This hotel is owned by a company that , sure, at the end of the road, there are very wealthy individuals that own it, but I think som etimes we tend to have the attitude of , Oh, but they’ve got so much money they should pay for this . You know, why should we be giving them any break? And candidly that is a ridiculous stance to take and pe ople—
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Mark J. PettingillNo, no, I am not making any criticism on the Opposition as saying that, no, no. [Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Mark J. PettingillNo, I did not. I said that, with respect, what I am saying . . . no, on you at all, listen to what I said, right? I said people take that view, not the Opposition. T he Opposition did not say that . Okay? [Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Mark J. PettingillI did not make that allegation, Honourable Member, either. What I am saying is that some people take that approach in their thinking, all right? I have heard it (okay ?) from people generally , from all sides of the divide, not in this House, but I am just saying …
I did not make that allegation, Honourable Member, either. What I am saying is that some people take that approach in their thinking, all right? I have heard it (okay ?) from people generally , from all sides of the divide, not in this House, but I am just saying generally, that , Oh, you know, the owners should be ponying up ; they’ve got so much money! And that is sometimes what gets raised with regards to , Why we should give any concessions ? Well that, candidly, is a nonsense. It does not matter who owns the hotel . It is a business ! And some bus iness owners have more money t han others. It does not mean that they are not entitled to operate and run their business on the same footing as every other business and that they should have the same benefits as every other business. And with this particular owner, as the Oppos ition has stated, and as stated in the report given here today by the Honourable Junior Tourism Minister, they have over the years invested hundreds of millions of dollars into that property and into Bermuda. And, candidly, now it is probably about time where they are saying like , Okay, you know, it’s only right and proper that we meet this commitment in order to go forward . . .in order for them to participate any further. And I have to say that that has to be the case of entirely fair enough. That property, which I visit quite regularly, Mr. Speaker, and I was down there the other week at one of the Big Chill nights, which is Bermudian entertai nment, and I do not know if anybody out there has not been down to one of those Friday night sessions or other sessions, b ut I remember walking down and thinking, Wow, this is what we could be. We could be like this, like other places in the world are. I felt like I had stepped out of Bermuda for a minute, I really did, it was rocking. It is the only thing I can think to say. And it was happy and lively and it was mostly Bermudians there as well, I mean, there were a lot of tourists as well, but it was a Bermudian night out. And the Honourable Member, my colleague, the Learned Mr. Crockwell, we went down the other week for the Bloomberg radio address. I do not know if people were aware that that was going on, and it was at the opening of the new suite down there on the water. Well, first of all, I have got to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that suite is a five -star suite, a cottage on its own, right on the water, and I stood there speaking with people . . . we stood there speaking with people that were down with the Bloomberg radio programme and everybody was saying that it was just one of the best spots in the world, right there down on Elbow Beach. It was a brilliant afternoon. The Honourable Member , Mr. Crockwell , has a video of me on a dare going down on the beach in my jacket and tie with no shoes on delivering some cold towels to some ladies who were on the beach there—they thought it was all part of the service— from Italy , and they were like, Thank you so much , and they did not . . . they had no idea, they were clueless as to that being the service with these cold to wels. It was very funny. But, you know , it was really —
[Inaudibl e interjections]
Mr. Mark J. PettingillNo, no. I t was really an example there on that day of what Bermuda could be, but what that property is. And I think we have to do all that we can as a Government, as an Opposition, as legi slators, to ensure that the Elbow Beach succeeds and …
No, no. I t was really an example there on that day of what Bermuda could be, but what that property is. And I think we have to do all that we can as a Government, as an Opposition, as legi slators, to ensure that the Elbow Beach succeeds and thrives and grows because it is truly a . . . the site is truly a premier spot in the world. I will never forget years ago on the show The Sopranos , which everybody used to watch, and Tony Soprano in making a picture at one point says to somebody, We’re going to go down and stay at the Elbow Beach in Bermuda. And I remember thinking at the time like, wow, look at that, Elbow Beach made The Sopranos , as to its significance. And that place has a special place in our hi story. The cur rent manager , Ed Burns , is to be congratulated for the job that he is doing there to revitalBermuda House of Assembly ise that hotel and really make it a premier destination in the world. So, I fully support the concessions that are being awarded here today , the concessions that wi ll come. It is important and I am heartened to see that we all are supporting of this Bill because this is the way to get things done —working in conjunction, in partnership, with a hotelier in order to ensure that we have a tourism product that competes on a world stage. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for the Environment , Minister Cole Simons. You have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. S peaker, I see the Elbow Beach as more than a hotel. The Elbow Beach to …
Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for the Environment , Minister Cole Simons. You have the floor. Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. S peaker, I see the Elbow Beach as more than a hotel. The Elbow Beach to me is a historic inst itution. It is a historic institution that has been around for over 70 to 80 years. And one may remember, Mr. Speaker, this hotel used to be farmland and cows used to graze on the hillsides , and it was not for the vision of the cows and horses , no, if it was not for the vision of the Frith family in Paget, we would not have this institution. Mr. Speaker, as was said earlier, this hotel has hosted people from around the world in all st ations —royalty, movie sta rs, industrialists, entertainers, US presidents, and many, many others. It is a brand within itself, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as you know, the hotel has had many, many managers. But like the Queen of England, the Queen said, I’ve seen about 20– 25 Prime Ministers come and go, but I still stand. And that is the same status that I would give the Elbow Beach Hotel. So I think because of its historic role in this comm unity, and I say “ historic ” because in the ’50s and ’60s it was a place renowned for training Bermudians, in particular, black Bermudians. And they were training Bermudians for the future tourism industry that we have today. These Bermudians were trained in the kitchen, they were trained in the night clu b, they were trained on the beach, they were trained at the front desk, and they are people that went on to become renowned in their own rights. And I would like to go down the list of people that passed through this phenomenal training pr ogramme and lef t a legacy in the tourism industry here in Bermuda. And I am going to start with Freddie Yearwood who was a bellman way back in the ’ 50s and ’60s and look what happened to him . Naboth E dness; Chilly Simons, John Jefferis of Coco Reef; Mickey Caines, he had the beach concession and, in fact, Mickey’s, at the Elbow Beach restaurant is named after him; my contemporaries, Tuf fy Todd, Winslow Tucker, Danny Gilbert from Somerset. These are first -class tourism professionals. As you can remember in the ’60s and ’70s, people could pick out tourism professionals just by the manner in which they carried themselves, the manner in which they presented themselves, and the way that they served our guests and the way that they spoke to us as regular people. They lived and breathed the standards of service that they expected to give pr ofessionally. [Mr. Rolfe Commissiong, Acting Speaker , in the Chair ]
Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Mr. Acting Speaker , I bas ically want to say we must continue to support this i nstitution because of the history that it has contributed to Bermuda’s tourism industry , that hotel along with the Hamilton Princess Hotel , are both icons of history for Bermuda’s tourism. But I will end as I began, this hotel is an inst itution, and institutions last for generations. And I am delighted that this Government is providing this hotel with support to sustain its institution because of its rich history and it is an example of what can be done in developing young people going forward. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Are there any other Members who would care to speak to this Order? No. Then the Chair will recognise the Junior Minister for Tourism from constituency 1. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker . First of all, I would like to say thank you …
Thank you, Member. Are there any other Members who would care to speak to this Order? No. Then the Chair will recognise the Junior Minister for Tourism from constituency 1. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker . First of all, I would like to say thank you to all the Members who contributed to this debate. And I will respond to the Honourable Member from constituency 15 first in regards to the emplo yment. It is predicted that they will employ 30 individuals. Th ere is a possibility that it may be more, but they have committed to doing the 30. In response to the Honourable Member from constituency 5, the Honourable Derrick Burgess, we will guarantee that Bermudians will come first, second and third in that employm ent. We make the commi tment that Bermudians will come first.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: And that is why I am here today because I stayed to the wicket.
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Mr. Acting Speak er— [Inaudible interjections] 2054 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome:—I ask that this Bill be . . . that a letter be written to His Excellency the Governor and a message be sent to Government House through the actions of the Government that this Bill has been appr oved— or this Order. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker. I love the fact they are watching endlessly.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThat is fine, Junior Minister. We do acknowledge the fact that you are still somewhat of a rookie, but you are learning fast. Are there any Members here that object to the passing of the Order? There are no objections. [Gavel]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThe message will be sent. [Motion carried: The Hotels Concession (Elbow Beach Hotel) Order 2016 was considered by the House and approved.]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerNext on the Order Paper . . . Members, we will now be in consideration of the H otels Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) Order 2016. The Chair now recognises the Junior Minister from constituency 1. [Pause] DRAFT ORDER HOTELS C ONCESSION (FORMER SURF SIDE BEACH CLUB) ORDER 2016 …
Next on the Order Paper . . . Members, we will now be in consideration of the H otels Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) Order 2016. The Chair now recognises the Junior Minister from constituency 1.
[Pause]
DRAFT ORDER
HOTELS C ONCESSION (FORMER SURF SIDE BEACH CLUB) ORDER 2016 Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker . I move that the consideration be given to the Draft Order entitled Hotels Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) Order 2016, proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for Tourism, with the wri tten agreement of the Minister of Finance under the provision of sections 3 and 4 of the Hotels Concession Act 2000.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Junior Minister has asked for consideration of the Hotel s Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) Order 2016. Are there any objections? There being no objections, you may continue, Junior Minister. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Mr. Acting Speaker , the Order before this Honourable House relates to the former …
The Junior Minister has asked for consideration of the Hotel s Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) Order 2016. Are there any objections? There being no objections, you may continue, Junior Minister.
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Mr. Acting Speaker , the Order before this Honourable House relates to the former Surf Side Beach Club. Honourable Members will be reminded that the aim of the Hotels Concession Act 2000 is to i mprove the overall tourism product by affording tax r elief to hotel developers who reinvest in their properties through refurbishment and development. Mr. Acting Speaker , the Surf Side Beach Club located on the South Shore Road in Warwick closed its doors in October 2015. The owners of the hotel removed the property from Government’s licensed hotel inventory. It should be noted that even though the hotel was licensed for 37 rooms, during the last few years of its operation Surf Side Beach Club only utilised approximately 20 rooms. This was due to the decline in the economy, lack of visitation, the poor condition of the property, and the lack of investment available. As visitors’ complaints continued, the owner felt that it was in the best interest of Bermuda to take the hotel out of the inventory and secure a new investor or owner. Mr. Acting Speaker , upon this Order being approved by both thi s Honourable House and the Senate, the Surf Side Beach Club will be purchased by the Clearwater Development Company, a new company incorporated in Bermuda on the 6 November 2015. The developer is a Bermudian by the name of Mr. John S. Bush III. Mr. Bush is a no stranger to the development of residential hotel products in Bermuda and overseas. Mr. Bush has extensive experience in Bermuda and led a successful management team at the Tucker’s Point Club creating and selling both whole and fractional ownership t hat produced approximately $300 million of high quality resort hospitality products. Mr. Bush is ready to make a significant investment by upgrading and redeveloping the Surf Side Beach Club into a new luxury residential hotel product called “Azura Bermuda” —Bermuda and an Azura hotel. Mr. Acting Speaker , undoubtedly the concessions to be granted will have a substantial incentive to incentivise the developer to move forward with his redevelopment plans , and it is quite possible that this project may not hav e been undertaken at all without access to these concessions. Providing tax relief for hotel development or redevelopment has become customary globally as more countries have turned to tourism to grow and expand their economies. With the increased global c ompetitiveness in tourism Bermuda must be willing to work with developers to improve our properties and local products that ultimately provide employment and opportunities. Mr. Acting Speaker , the Order before this Honourable House covers phases one and t wo of the redevelopment plans to the existing infrastructure of the former Surf Side Beach Club and new infrastructure to be built until 2015. The property was licensed for 37 rooms, or put another way, 37 keys with a maximum bed count of 82 people. The de veloper has redevelopment plans that will add 12 new suites, 6
Bermuda House of Assembly new hotel residences —phases one and two —that will potentially increase the Azura Hotel capacity to 69 keys, or 138 persons, with the potential for more as the configuration of the suites are ei ther studio, one, two or three bedrooms. Mr. Acting Speaker , the first phase of redevelopment will concentrate on the fresh water pool, sun terrace, Azura Spa, Bistro, substantial improv ements to the beach area and cliff, the existing landscape infrastruc ture, converting the old dilapidated rooms plus new added rooms into 48 rooms and suites that will be branded as luxury residential hotel. Construction will start in June 2016 with a significant portion of the first phase to be completed in time for the Am erica’s Cup in June of 2017. The new deve lopment will open as the Azura Hotel. Additional rooms will be added in phase two. Mr. Acting Speaker , all units will be marketed as residential hotel with the intent that each unit or part of a unit or key will be put back into the hotel i nventory. A new owner will make an investment dec ision at the time of purchase of a unit. He or she will decide to put back the whole unit into hotel inventory, i.e., three bedrooms or just one or two of the individual bedrooms. I t should be noted that each bedroom will have the capacity to be separately locked off with a private entry and en suite bathrooms. All bedrooms have been designed by the developer specifically for this purpose. Mr. Acting Speaker , no hotel concession rel ief will be afforded to any purchaser who does not put one or all of the keys back into the hotel inventory. This process will be managed from the outset by the developer working with the Ministry of Tourism, Transport and Municipalities , and other Governm ent departments. Mr. Acting Speaker , the developer has made a commitment to invest $20 million into the acquisition of the property and the first phase redevelopment costs with a further estimated investment of between $13 million to $16 million being made in phase two. Mr. Acting Speaker , this Order provides for maximum concessions in the amount of $2,572,000 subject to conditions, which is calculated on the pr oject’s value of capital investment and redevelopment improvement of approximately $35 million. This co mmitment is crucial and in line with the Government’s strategy to develop the tourism product and assist with defraying the exorbitant cost of maintaining an infrastructure that addresses changes in consumer’s trends. It is also needed to sustain B ermuda’s tourism future generation. Thank you, Mr. Acting Speaker .
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Are there any other Members that would care to give some consideration to this Order? [Inaudible interjections]
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerCan you take your seat? I jumped the gun a little bit. Junior Minister, are you prepared to give an overview of the Order , paragraph by paragraph at this time? Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Yes, Mr. Acting Speaker .
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerPlease proceed, sir. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Mr. Acting Speaker, with your permission I will continue.
The Acting SpeakerThe SpeakerYou may proceed, sir. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Hotels Concession Order under section 3 of the Hotels Concession Act 2000 in respect of the former Surf Side Beach Club, redevelopment is deemed to be in the national economic interest of Bermuda. Clause- by-clause explanation of the Bill: [Clause]1 is the …
You may proceed, sir.
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Hotels Concession Order under section 3 of the Hotels Concession Act 2000 in respect of the former Surf Side Beach Club, redevelopment is deemed to be in the national economic interest of Bermuda. Clause- by-clause explanation of the Bill: [Clause]1 is the standard citation clause. [Clause] 2 is the interpretation clause. [Claus e] 3 sets out the developer’s entitlement to concession as the hotel is being developed over two phases. The concession relief granted will be staggered according to the number of hotel rooms estimated to be in the market from the opening date. [Clause] 3(1)(a) relates to the relief from Customs Duty until a year after the hotel’s opening date. [Clause] 3(1)(b) land tax relief relates to relief from land tax up to $75,000 in the first year of the assessment; $100,000 in the second year of the assessment; and up to $150,000 in the remaining three years of the assessment. [Clause] 3(1)(c) hotel occupancy tax 1 refers to a cap relief from hotel occupancy tax for the hotel that is equal to the sum expended by the hotel on marketing the hotel up to $140,000 in the first year of the assessment; $280,000 in the second year of the assessment; $339,000 in the third year of the as-sessment; $353,000 in the fourth year of the asses sment; and $367,000 in the fifth year of the asses sment. [Clause] 3(1)(d) hotel occupancy tax 2. This cap relief is directly related to a relief for hotel occ upancy tax for the hotel equal to the amount expended by the hotel on entertainment provided by Bermudian entertainers up to $50,000 in the first year of the assessment; $65,000 in the second year of the asses sment; and $75,000 in the remaining three years of the assessment.
[Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair]
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Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Mr. Speaker, [clause] 3(1)(e) payroll tax relief, this cap relief is r elated to t he employer’s share of the payroll tax equal to an amount expended by the hotel for the training of Bermudian employees up to $30,000 in the first year of the assessment; $35,000 in the second year of the assessment; $40,000 in the third year of the asses sment; $42,000 in the fourth year of the assessment; and $43,000 in the fifth year of the assessment. [Clause] 4 sets out the terms and conditions required for the developer to qualify for the various concessions. Applications are provided with guide-lines which set out the conditions. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 15, who is speaking for Tourism in the place of the Member from [c onstit uency] 33. So the Chair recognises MP Roban.
Mr. Walter H. RobanThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My comments on this particular measure will be somewhat the same as made on the previous measure. We again support this Concession Order for the very reasons that we have already reiterated and that the Minister has reiterated in his brief, that is to …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My comments on this particular measure will be somewhat the same as made on the previous measure. We again support this Concession Order for the very reasons that we have already reiterated and that the Minister has reiterated in his brief, that is to promote the investment in our tourism product and, certainly as well , the Bermudian involvement in the investment of that tourism product , and that these i nvestments will maximise Bermudian opportunity as well as the country’s opportunity in tourism. It is our understanding that the hotel is . . . that this proposed hotel, as the Junior Minister said, seems to really be changing hands and is going to [b e in] the hands of an investor who is willing to put the funds in that will ensure that this property, which has had a long history on the South Shore, Paget/Warwick side, will be back in the inventory. Not only that, as has been reiterated, but the number of . . . although it is being changed to a residential hotel which, perhaps, is a good thing because that means that the type of visitor that will come here is one that will stay longer, spend more, and actually be more complementary to the type of touris m product that Bermuda is endea vouring to provide. And there is an ambition to increase the number of rooms, almost double the number of keys, that will be available on this property. And as the Junior Minister has described, substantial enhanc ement of the property’s features so that they have more offerings to their future visitors and the amount of i nvestment is perhaps going to be in the region of $30or-more million. This is all good news, Mr. Speaker, and we are supportive of this and all that can be done to e nsure that this happens. We note from the list of con-cessions that there are Schedules attached to the specific amounts , i.e., concessions on Customs, there will be Customs relief, land tax relief, hotel occupancy relief, measured up against whate ver is put into the marketing. And we do hope to see that the owner will be marketing this property itself and not necessarily just exclusively relying on what the Bermuda BTA will do, but we have long been supportive of properties themselves marketing the mselves out in the environment and not just exclusively relying on what will be done by the Bermuda representatives in that. This is a good thing. This helps and we are . . . there seems to be, based on this Concession Order, a commitment for the owner goi ng forward—the new owner —to do this. And again the issue of entertainment, there is a concession here related to the investment that the hotel will make in entertainment. I will reiterate a ques-tion that I did not get answered in the previous Order, does the Junior Minister have in mind the type of entertainment that the new owner is seeking to bring to this particular property? Because that is an indication, perhaps, to some of our entertainers what they should be preparing themselves for. It is not just an arbitrary question because if we know what the owner has in mind then, perhaps, that will motivate our entertainers themselves to begin to offer a product that will be at-tractive to the future owner. It would be remiss of me to not reiterate the points raised by my honourable colleague who sits in constituency 5, who has a long history and experience in the hotel industry, on this issue of entertainers. Unfortunately, the current Minister of Tourism and Municipalities . . . his record with our musicians is not pretty, if I can just be . . . trying to be euphemistic. It is not complimentary and certainly has not inspired the confidence of our musicians’ community that this gentleman, who sits in another place as Minister, can be relied on to look out for their interests due to some of the changes in his previous portfolio he made and some of his own approaches that he took to our mus icians and the music —the Bermudian music industry — let us make that clear. The Bermudian, and when I say “Bermudian,” I am tal king about Bermudian as is described in the America’s Cup Bill . I am talking about people who are Bermudians and have Bermudian status under the Immigration and Protection Act 1956. We have been playing around with this description of “Bermudian” lately wh en it comes to hospitality and tourism , so I want to make it clear the type of Bermudian I am talking about, those Bermudians who put us here in this House. Those musicians, who are Bermudians, will see an opportunity through these concessions, and particularly as we talk about the H otels Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) , I ask again that these types of concessions not just be sweeteners for us to take on whatever they are offering, but that actually there will be a substantive effort of enforcement and monitoring by the Minister and
Bermuda House of Assembly those who represent the Minister in the Ministry to ensure that these types of concessions when offered are adhered to. And we look forward to these concessions being sustainable and lasting in their impact for the v iability of the hotel. So we do not just want them to be what brings them here to bring their money, but we want them to be successful in a sustainable operation. So I am sure that the Ministry will do whatever it can, even beyond the concession, to ensure th at the new investor who appears to have some experience with Bermuda and clearly has confidence in Bermuda, as the Junior Minister reiterated in his brief, has a history of investing in Bermudian property that is related to hospitality. So that is encouraging that this gentleman has taken the effort to take the risk, if I can call it that, with putting his investment in another property and bringing it to life once again. And as has been reiterated by, I believe, the former Tourism Minister, that area of S outh Shore existing from the Elbow Beach right down, literally , down to one might argue, to Astwood Park and beyond, was once almost what some people call the Gold Coast. There were numerous properties, smaller in type and also larger in type, one might ar gue that it goes all the way to Southampton Princess. But there was a particular area that went from Elbow Beach literally right down to Astwood Park, which was literally hotel prop-erty or visitor property after visitor property — Bermudiana Beach Club— all those areas down there were bustling with visitors. And I can reflect on that personally because I used to live there in that area and I used to spend a lot of my summer time hanging on the beach, moving beach chairs and the likes around for the visitors who used to go to the Bermudiana Beach Club, and it certainly filled my summers with interesting experiences as a young teenager. Perhaps those days can come back again, Mr. Speaker, with this type of investment. And if the hotels concession packages that ar e being devised brings about this level of investment, then Mr. Speaker, all the more for it. So, we welcome the package that has been outlined. It seems to be a bit different from the prev ious Concession Order, as I said, there are Schedules of amounts that each year assessment will be given to the investor, which perhaps in itself provides a little bit more clarity as to what the expectations are. And again, the training is so crucial. We need our Bermudians back as is described in [clause] 3(e) I believe it is. It is crucial that this training provision brings about what we believe that these hotel owners seek to provide, not only the opportunity for them to provide hospitality and investment and to own, invest , [and have a] positive return on their inves tment here in Bermuda, but also an opportunity for Bermudians to invest their own time and energy and to add to the hotel product a truly Bermudian flavour that we all hope becomes, once again, a part of the Bermudian experience. So with those comments, Mr . Speaker, I will sit down and allow others to make their contributions. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, MP Roban. Any other Honourable Member care to speak? The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 18, MP David Burt. You hav e the floor.
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. We pass these hotel concessions in the hope of spurring hotel deve lopment in Bermuda, which is something that is desperately needed. But in the Junior Minister’s brief I could not help but overhear because it seems as …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. We pass these hotel concessions in the hope of spurring hotel deve lopment in Bermuda, which is something that is desperately needed. But in the Junior Minister’s brief I could not help but overhear because it seems as though we do not seem to have learned the lessons from the past and we continue to go around and around on the same cycle. What do I mean by that, Mr. Speaker? I mean that the developer who is purchasing this property and looking to develop this property has on his résumé, you know, leading the effort at Tucker’s Point. And we all know that that effort was not very successful and we know that we have had to pass concessions upon concessions, speci al development orders, we know that things have been in receivership bailout, and it is the whole item which we see, whether it be, you know, whether it be the Reefs, which had experiences , whether it be Newstead, which had experiences in the same aspect w hen it comes to fractional ownership that is supposed to support a hotel development property. I mean we even look right now at Pink Beach, which is going on, which is something that has been touted, and we have to question how the real estate sales are go ing there on that effort. The reason why I am bringing this up, Mr. Speaker, is that I find it interesting that someone is using their résumé as Tucker’s Point which did not work out very well, and is basically copying the same template 15 years later to another project today and hoping, you know, basically following the same path and expecting a different result. That is not to cast aspersions on the developer, that is not to cast aspersions on the project, this is a concession and it will only take place if we actually get to the point of that type of building. But I think that we have to remember from history and be realistic, that we have been down this road many times before. And we have tried this model many, many times. And I would like the Honourabl e Junior Mini ster, when he gives the response, to tell us when has this model actually been successful in Bermuda where we are using the sale of residential things to fund the hotel project and it has managed to be successful. 2058 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Because it has been a challenge and we have to recognise that. And we may want to look at other models; we may want to look at alternative models, because the last thing we want is for there to be lack of conf idence in our tourism product. We want banks to want to go ahead and lend to these particular types of items, but if banks keep on suffering losses and have bad loans on their balance sheet because of this, then the credit is going to dry up and it is going to create a problem and a challenge in that aspect. So this one is very di fferent than the last one we did because that was talking about a pure capital injection into a hotel and refurbishment, not attempting to rely on real estate sales, portioning off in land, you know, the same thing that we are seeing . that was supposed to take place at Morgan’s Point, the same thing that we are seeing that was supposed to take place in the East End. And there is a question also for the Honourable Junior Minister because there was a presentation last night in the East End where there is a lot of rumbling that the developer is looking to build the housing units before the hotel. Now, this is the challenge because, again, it is using the sale and proceeds from the sale of residential in order to fund the hotel. We tried it many, many times before, Mr. Speaker, and we know where it has gotten us. And so I just want to express and flag that note of caution, and I hope that our Mr. Bush’s efforts this time would be more successful than his efforts were 15 years ago at Tucker’s Point, which saw that hotel end up in receivership, the multiple sales, all the rest, special development orders subject to lots of di fferent things. So that is the only note of caution that I would have, Mr. Speaker . We hope it will be successful, but we have to remember that this model has been tried many times before in Bermuda and it does not have a very successful track record in success.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. Any other Honourable Member care to speak? The Chair will now recognise then the Junior Minister.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh, sorry, I did not see you.
Mr. Glen SmithYou did not recognise me in your colours today , that is why, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSorry, no, no, I . . . this lamp was in my way, excuse me.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 14, MP Glen Smith.
Mr. Glen SmithThank you. I will be brief because I believe in the previous discussion the lot was covered. However, I stand here and I fully support this concession of the former Surf Side Beach Club. Mr. Speaker, I would think that a lot of our constituents are probably concerned that all …
Thank you. I will be brief because I believe in the previous discussion the lot was covered. However, I stand here and I fully support this concession of the former Surf Side Beach Club. Mr. Speaker, I would think that a lot of our constituents are probably concerned that all they hear is us giving things away and without perhaps having an understanding of why we are doing it. Well, as the former Minister of Tourism has always stated since he sat in that seat there and now he sits there, is it is a global world, it is a changing world. In order to compete we have to give to be able to get something back. And you know wh at we have done and what we have seen in the past 18 months is we have had hotels that are starting to come to fruition and they are certainly starting to happen thanks to these concessions. Now the Honourable Member that just took his seat , I happened to meet one of the . . . and I guess it is a point of clarification, I met one of the pri ncipals last evening because I wanted to get a better understanding to say , Why would you be doing the same thing that had been done in the past that does not seem to be working? And it is not the same concept. It is not a fractional ownership. It is outright ow nership. And these units can be bought by Bermudians, they can be bought by overseas people, and I will go on the Bermudian side that a Bermudian, particularly if he or she is retired and does not want to run a big home anymore, that wants to travel, can buy one of these units that can . . . an attachment of an apar tment so they can live a number of months here and then go and travel and put it back into the [hotel room] pool where that money that will be coming in would pay for the maintenance fees, also give them perhaps a bit of income coming in, and whatever amenities they use on the site. So it is certainly not a fractional unit. It is not.
Mr. E. David BurtPoint of information, Mr. Speaker, if I may, just to clarify.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Are you okay . . . the Member sat down, so go ahead. POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Mr. E. David BurtThe Honour able Member will know that at Tucker’s Point there are real estate sales, fractional, there is a mix, all the rest. What I am saying is relying on real estate sales to fund a hotel develop-ment is not a model that has proven successful. Bermuda House of Assembly
Mr. Glen SmithThank you. As I said , I spoke to the owner yesterday and he reassured me that it was not the same. It would be owned outright by the individual. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerJust . . . just a minute. We are going to stop this right now before it gets out of hand. All right ? I do not want to see people speaking across the floor of the House unless you are standing on your feet.
Mr. Glen SmithThank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congratulate these new deve lopers. From my understanding in my meeting we had yesterday, the majority of these primary investors are Bermudian. They already have the financing in place, obviously, and once and hopefully this concession goes through the funds will be …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to congratulate these new deve lopers. From my understanding in my meeting we had yesterday, the majority of these primary investors are Bermudian. They already have the financing in place, obviously, and once and hopefully this concession goes through the funds will be released so they can get going. And also I have been told that some of the work has already started on the property by starting to clean it up and gut the rooms and so forth. And once again, you know, I thank these i nvestors for having confidence in Bermuda and having confidence where things are going in the future, and they are certainly going in the right direction as we have seen a number of new small businesses starting up. As I stated, it is roughly a $50 million inves tment. Hopefully , there will be more coming later. And it is built on a brand site and it is also going to be a boutique hotel. No, it is not going to be a major hotel, but it is going to have up to 69 rooms versus, I believe, the 37 that they have now. As probably for the Honourable Member from constituency 24, Member Scott, it is probably closest to his constituency and he probably notices when he goes up South Shore that it is kind of an eyesore, that it certainly needs to be rejuvenated, and I think that the people in the neighbourhood that have been around it for such a long time will certainly support that. As we have stated, the Government has been committed and made the el ection promises that it would create jobs and, once again, this is one of the ones that will create jobs. You have architects, you have landscape designers, construction crews, dr ywall technicians, electricians, plumbers, and the list goes on. And I also s poke to one of the main principal s yesterday, just to put everybody’s mind at ease, and they are committed to training and hiring Bermudians in positions of management, front desk, customer service, housemen and bellman and housekeeping room attendants and waiters and chefs. So I believe them , they will do everything they can to hire Bermudians and train them so that they are able to work in this facility. However, Mr. Speaker, it is not just hiring those 19 or 22 Bermudians for this facility, it is the outsourcing that is going to take place too because they will have to hire landscaping gardeners, security firms, [and] painting firms just to keep the place mai ntained and what have you. So there is a multiplier effect that comes down. And of course they hav e to have utilities companies to support them such as the internet, CableVision, BELCO, and the list goes on. So there is a multiplier effect, it is not just hiring pe ople that run there. It is the spread of additional rev enue that will be spread out. The other thing is , the great thing is , it is going to increase bed nights, which we certainly need, and I have been assured that once this concession goes through, which hopefully it will, it will be ready for the America’s Cup and they will be tackling the r ooms first because they need to get them ready for it. And once again this drives additional revenue as additional taxes for the Government, for feeding . . . for restaurants, taxi drivers , and tour operators. So, Mr. Speaker, in closing I wish them all th e success and I wish them well. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. No other Members wish to speak , so I will go back to the Junior Minister. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will respond to the Honourable Mr. B urt first from constituency . . .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerEighteen. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Eighteen. F irst, dealing with the meeting that took place in St. George’s yesterday, Mr. Speaker. I have had the opportunity to meet with the proposed developers on three separate occasions and they have assured me that they will be building the hotel first. And …
Eighteen.
Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Eighteen. F irst, dealing with the meeting that took place in St. George’s yesterday, Mr. Speaker. I have had the opportunity to meet with the proposed developers on three separate occasions and they have assured me that they will be building the hotel first. And I will say at this point here , as the representative from constit uency 1 where this hotel is proposed to built , and as a St. Georgian, Mr. Speaker, I will say a nd you will be aware that I fight for my community. So to that Honourable Member I would like for you to be aware that I have had a commitment from the developers that the hotel will be built first. Dealing with Mr. Roban speaking to the point of the entertainment, the concessions will not be 2060 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly granted until they can deliver invoices that prove that they have been hiring local entertainers. That is when the concessions will be granted, Mr. Speaker. I was expecting a few more questions, but Mr. Burt cut his questions short.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDo not worry, if there are few questions then, just move on, Member. Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: Mr. Speaker, I ask that this Order be approved and that a message be sent to His Excellency the Governor , and I thank you,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Are there any Members that are opposed to the message being sent with reference to this Co ncession to His Excellency? There are none, so a message will be sent to the Governor in this regard. Thank you, Hon ourable Junior Minister. [Motion carried: The Hotels …
All right. Thank you. Are there any Members that are opposed to the message being sent with reference to this Co ncession to His Excellency? There are none, so a message will be sent to the Governor in this regard. Thank you, Hon ourable Junior Minister. [Motion carried: The Hotels Concession (Former Surf Side Beach Club) Order 2016 was considered by the House and approved.]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Members, the rest of the Orders of the Day are carried over. So I recognise the . . . the Premier is not here, so the Deputy Premier. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: The Premier is here now.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, sir. ADJOURNMENT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, I move that we adjourn until next week Friday.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Th ank you. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 3, MP Lovitta Foggo. You have the floor. COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Ms. Lovitta F. FoggoYes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again I feel compelled to get to my feet and speak on the issue surrounding education as we see it playing out in the public do-main. Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is anyone who would argue that education is a …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, once again I feel compelled to get to my feet and speak on the issue surrounding education as we see it playing out in the public do-main. Mr. Speaker, I do not think there is anyone who would argue that education is a matter of priority. Mr. Speaker, we have heard many people lament in the public domain that they believe it is high time that there be an . . . and let me say this, that there [must] be a Bermudian, and, yes, the first Commissioner of Education we had was Bermudian, but there [must] be a Bermudian that takes over that helm once again. It is believed that there is no one who understands the terrain, the intricacies , all that you will have to encounter in education better than a person who has grown up on this Island, gone through our educ ational system, has worked within our educational system at all levels, and who has acquired a résumé that speaks to being able to secure such a position. When we look at other jurisdictions, Mr. Speaker, we see time and time again individuals who have, I can say, a long history in education, but not necessarily a history that is any different from one who has spent their entirety operating at various le vels with the education system here in Bermuda. And, Mr. Speaker, when you look at individuals who have spent many years in the classroom, i ndividuals who have spent many years at an admini strative level, individuals who have headed schools, individuals who work at the Ministry level within education, individuals who have a résumé that speaks to excellence and speaks to a high level of job perfor mance, it becomes a slap in the face when such ind ividuals are overlooked for positions for which they qualify. Mr. Speaker, when we see something like this happening, it brings into question whether or not there have been criteria put in place which would—I have to say it —purposely disregard Bermudians for such a position. Now I do not . . . I would hope that nothing like that, of course, is at play, but Mr. Speaker, when we see that there are individuals with, I guess you can say, an illustrious work experience withi n education, then we have to as Bermudians stand up and say no one else but a Bermudian should be in that position. When we continuously find a reason to place persons from overseas —and I am not saying . . . I am not speaking to their records —but persons f rom overseas in key positions throughout various industries in Bermuda, it really does reinforce the message that for some reason Bermudians either are not qualified, do not have the experience, are not capable, I can think of all sorts of descriptive terms, Mr. Speaker. That is the connotation that begins to manifest in the minds of our public. We can ill afford that, especially in educ ation. Teachers are tasked with developing young individuals and teaching them to believe that if they work hard within sc hool that they should be able to acquire anything that they aim for. Mr. Speaker, I think it is absolutely crucial when we tell our young people something like that, that they are capable of being whatever they choose to be, that we should reinforce that message by our behaviour, Mr. Speaker, by showing them by example that we are capable, and that is by ensuring that we put Bermudians in pos itions for which they are qualified. It makes no sense in a jurisdiction like Bermuda saying, Okay, you have to show that you have
Bermuda House of Assembly worked at an executive level for 20 years as a superintendent — and I am not saying that this is what the qualifications are, but I am just saying in general, Mr. Speaker —as a superintendent with oversight of 50 schools and the like. And somet imes, Mr. Speaker, as we have seen, when we do bring in individuals that for some reason seem to have qualifications over and above other candidates for a position such as Commissioner of Education, when they get here we quickly learn that they are not the suitable candidate for the job. Because when placed in that position and asked to perform, we get less than desirable results. So that, to me, debunks any notion that only people who have operated in foreign jurisdictions have the certain qualifications that make one worthy for a position of Commissioner of Education here in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, you know, even when we look at the board level I have often said, and this is som ething that I have seen repeatedly, you have at the helm people who are non -educ ators. I really do believe that you should have people in position who understand the culture for which . . . of the institution, sorry, for which they are tasked having management and authority over. Too often we see people bringing in business models or other types of models to try and operate an educational institution and those models do not work in education. And, Mr. Speaker, when we bring in people who are used to operating under a different jurisdi ction with a different set of rules, with a different type of culture, sometimes those things which they bring , those skills, those things that they bring to use as their tools to try and bring about and implement changes that they want , that they think will lead to better success in our system, they soon f ind that they are not the right tools , or that the tools they have acquired are not the right fit for what is needed here in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, I was very upset to read some comments today in the electronic media that sort of give credence to bringing i n foreigners over and above [Bermudians], suggesting it is because Bermudians are not capable of doing the job. It is an ab-solute nonsense, Mr. Speaker. We have seen Ber-mudians in the past do a stellar job and I know and I have worked with Bermudians who are quite capable of carrying out the job. Mr. Speaker, I understand and since we are talking about what has been purported in the public domain in terms of hiring a non- Bermudian, and I say “purported” (all right ?) because until there is an official releas e that is what it is, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, I have to say this , when we look at the Bermudian candidates with the suggestion that those same candidates have been asked to serve as, I guess, assistant to someone who may be brought here to ensure th at whatever gaps that person may have or whatever difficulties they may en-counter that [the Bermudian] is there by that person’s side to help them manoeuvre through the minefields. Well, Mr. Speaker, let me suggest this, might it not be better to bring suc h a person to Bermuda and if there are some gaps which have been identified with those who are Bermudian who applied for the position to have that person come and assist our local experts to manoeuvre through the minefields and to help bridge that gap and to ensure that they have the other necessary skills to carry out a successful job? I think that is the better way to go, Mr. Speaker, because what we need, if we say it and we do need a head for education and we need someone, Mr. Speaker, who can assume the position from day one, someone who has intimate knowledge of how the educational instit ution operates, someone who understands all the pi tfalls, someone who will better know how to . . . I guess you could say, manoeuvre their way —his or her way—through t he minefields. And the suggestion that it be anyone but a Bermudian, which, again, I say when you look at the electronic media, there was the suggestion that Bermudians cannot do the job . I am so sick of that narr ative, Mr. Speaker! It is an insult. We graduate from high school here. We go overseas and get educated in their institutions, we graduate, we do well, and most of us come back with GPAs of 3.0 and above. Many of us do better than those who gr ew up in that system , and the only distinguishing featur e between us and them is that we are local and they are not. We come back with all of our qualifications. When we work , we get the experience. But for some reason it is never good enough. It is never good enough. And a Bermudian does not know how to do the job. I take exception to those comments , and I say to those people who feel that way about Bermudians and who are here in Bermuda, then leave! Leave! I am tired of being insulted in my own country, Mr. Speaker. And I am not going to sit or even stand qui etly and accept those type of labels because I know, for me personally, when I worked in education, I did my job. I worked hard and I tried to be the best teacher that I could possibly be. I tried to be the best admini strator that I could possibly be. I ga ve up countless hours . I helped any student —without compensation. Any student who required extra assistance I was there to help. I did every thing and anything I could to ensure that my young students had the best chance that they could possibly have with w hatever assistance I could provide. And there are many like me who work in edu-cation. And it is not the majority who give education a bad rap, it is the minority, and I am sick and tired of people labelling the educational system and the teachers and other s in that system as though they are people who do not care, who do not know what they are doing, who do not know how to get the job done. I think about the many hundreds and hundreds of st u2062 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly dents who I helped shape and mould, who have gone overseas , been successful at their tertiary education, come back and assume first -class jobs here in Bermuda. I think that is a testament to the fact that we know how to get the job done, especially for those who came . . . because I taught in the public school system, so especially for those who went through the public school system. I can tell you this, Mr. Speaker, when teachers first come in they have to . . . they are given a certain period of time, a probation period, I was looking for the word. The probation period i n public education can extend up to two years and for the most part it is at least about a year and a half. You show me any other institution in Bermuda that has that type of probationary period. And if someone does not pass that probationary period, at le ast as long as I was a teacher, they never got hired as a teacher. That is what I know. So I would think at least the basic skill set of most of the educators in the classroom setting, they have the basic skill set. There may be some once they get here that choose not to perform, but do not let those few individuals define education in Bermuda. You know education is a dynamic —it is d ynamic . We are constantly learning more and as the world changes with all of the technology implement ation it has and will continue to redirect how education is delivered to our students. And so many of the chal-lenges —and I am not speaking about the social challenges right now, Mr. Speaker, but many of the cha llenges —when it comes to the instructional delivery and the like and modifying it to meet the needs of those who sit in a classroom before the teacher, educators will constantly find themselves tasked with ha ving to modify and change how they go about doing that. Because you have to be responsive in education to the needs of the children, otherwise, yes, you do fail the children. And yes, from a system wide perspective, Mr. Speaker, we have to look at that and make whatever modifications are necessary to ensure as best we can that we try and give our children a fundamental education that puts them in good stead to either secure employment once they graduate or to secure tertiary education in whatever arena they choose to do so. So, Mr. Speaker, if we are a Government — and I say that collectively —that is about putting Bermudians first, then we need to demonstrate that in our behaviours and we need to that in particular in educ ation by ensuring that the person who is placed at the helm is a Bermudian. And on that note, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you . Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable and Learned Attorney , Trevor Moniz. You have the floor. REFERENDUM ON SAME -SEX RELATIONSHIPS Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you . Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the substantive Minist er of Education for deferring …
Thank you . Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable and Learned Attorney , Trevor Moniz. You have the floor. REFERENDUM ON SAME -SEX RELATIONSHIPS
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you . Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the substantive Minist er of Education for deferring to me on this; I know he wanted to r espond to that stream of righteous indignation from the Opposition Member. I have an important announcement to make and the announcement refers to the decision of the Chief Justice with res pect to the case of the r eferendum on same-sex relationships. The Chief Justice handed down his decision this afternoon. As members of the public will recall this is a case by the Centre for Justice against the Attorney General and the Parli amentary Regist rar to set aside the r eferendum in its entirety on a variety of grounds that it was unconstit utional, in breach of the common law, et cetera. We are pleased to be able to announce that the Government and the Parliamentary Registrar, the Government was suc cessful in defending that action. The Chief Justice held that the referendum is not unconstitutional, it is not unlawful, not in breach of the common law, and in the Chief Justice’s own words he stated, “Decisions relating to the convening of referendums are matters falling within the province of the executive and legislative branches of government.” Members will recall that the decision to hold a referendum was made by the Premier and Cabinet and it was passed through Parliament , and the Chief Justice has upheld those decisions. So we were successful. However, the decision by the Parliamentary Registrar to set half of the polling stations in church halls was set aside. So the decision there, the dec ision to have them in church halls was a function of when the referendum date was set , and there was consultation on that. The suggestion was that it should be when it was and, unfortunately , at that time, schools will not yet be closed. That is why church halls were used, and church halls are used in general elections, so it was thought there would be no objection. The Centre for Justice did take objection and so we will have to have new polling stations set. The Parliamentary Registrar is seeking out those polling stations with respect to the early, the advanced poll , which is next week —three days next week —the pol ling station has been agreed to be moved from the . . . I think it is the Seventh Day Adventist Hall , and is moved to the Bermuda College for the 14, 15, and 16 of June. And the Parliamentary Registrar is still wor king on getting alternative polling stations for the referendum itself on the 23 rd of June. And those were set in a number of church halls. Members may recall they were set for: Holy Trinity Church Hall; St. Patrick’s Church Hall; First Church of God Church Hall; SevBermuda House of Assembly enth Day Adventist Church Hall, King Street; Calvary Gospel Church Hall; and Allen Temple Church Hall as polling stations. The difficulty was that at least half of those churches were part of the Preserve Marriage group and had taken a position that was viewed as unsui table, so the Chief Justice has ruled that there might be the perception of bias in those places and has, therefore, ordered that new places be appointed. So, I just rise and I think that that needs to be published as w idely as possible. We were particularly concerned because there was a very erroneous headline in the Royal Gazette about what the Chief had said, and it was presumed from the headline that the Chief Justice was going to rule the r eferendum itself unconstit utional , and that is not the case. We were successful in defending the main thrust of the action by Centre for Justice. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much, Atto rney General , for that very important information. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5, MP D. V. Burgess. POLLING STATIONS Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to say briefly on the statement in the …
All right. Thank you very much, Atto rney General , for that very important information. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 5, MP D. V. Burgess.
POLLING STATIONS
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to say briefly on the statement in the papers this morning, I do not know when the polling st ations came under the remit of the Chief Justice. I do not know when that has ever happened. The Chief Justice does not set the standards or the locations of any polling stations, you know, I think . . . anyhow.
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Hon. Derrick V. Burge ss, Sr.: But Mr. Speaker, let me talk about this appointment of the new c ommi ssioner. You know, Mr. Speaker, what annoys me about this here is — Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. POINT OF ORDER Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Mr. Speaker, there has been no appointment.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right, yes. There has been no appointment, Honourable Member, there has just been— Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, it has been r eported —
The SpeakerThe Speaker—speculation . . . it has been alluded to, but there has been no— Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: —the report that there would be a foreigner to be the new Commissioner, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know when the CedarBridge Academy opened Bermudians applied for the job and they …
—speculation . . . it has been alluded to, but there has been no—
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: —the report that there would be a foreigner to be the new Commissioner, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know when the CedarBridge Academy opened Bermudians applied for the job and they brought in a forei gner and that foreigner failed. And they put this good Christian lady there, Ms. Ric hards, Kalmar Richards , and you know she is one of the best education administrators in Bermuda. Why does . . . every time that a job comes up that Bermudians have to be on probation? And they would get the job at about age 62 to 65, they soon have to retire, and then another foreigner comes. You know and a lot of times these recommendations are made by Bermudians because . . . and I think the reason for that, Mr. Speaker, is that a lot of these Bermudians have been enshrined in a system that will not leave them and that they think that foreign is better when we have the expertise here. I remember back in history the honourable . . . well, at that time Dr. James, now decease d, he had come home as a surgeon at the King Edward Memorial Hospital and he was to do surgery on this lady , a white lady , one of my cousins , and the lady did not want Dr. James to operate on her because of his complexion so she went to Canada and the surgeon that she consulted in Canada told her the best person for that operation is Dr. James in Bermuda. Again, we always have to prove ourselves over and over again, despite the qualifications that we have.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess , Sr.: Mr. Speaker, in the Board of Education in Bermuda there are at least six Bermudians with d octorate degrees —
[Gavel]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: —with doctorate d egrees. And over the last three years you had Bermudians sharing in the [job] as comm issioner of the education system in Bermuda. And I would venture to say, Mr. Speaker, they have done a pretty good job. Mr. Speaker, when we all see this year, just recently at Berkeley ( and it was another school also) that the children that normally . . . they were taking their . . . let us call it school leaving ( that is what I know it by, right?), t hey were also doing simultan eously an associate’s degree. So now those children can leave Berkeley with an associate’s degree, with those credits, and go ove rseas to university and do two years of university and get their degree. Even the IB Programme at Warwick’s Academy and BHS and whoever else does it, they get that IB diploma, they still have to do four years in the 2064 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly United States or three years in England to get a degree, unlike the person that graduates from Berkeley doing that programme—the new programme—has just got to do two years. That says a lot for the administration of the education system in Bermuda. They are doing a great job, Mr. Speaker. Yes, and the Minister concurs, you know. So I do not see why any advert had to go overseas to try to recruit somebody from overseas when we have got six people —at least six people— in the Department of Education with doctorate degrees, Mr. Speaker. This is insult ing. This questions the decision of parents : Should I send my children away to school and get the necessary qualifications only to come back to Bermuda and they’ve got to be on probation? There was a time in the history of Bermuda, you read it in the books , Mr. Speaker, when Bermudians with degrees came home but whites with no degrees were given jobs over Bermudians with degrees. I thought by now we would have graduated from that system. And when you continue that type of system you effect those people— black Bermudians too—in position because they do not have the . . . let me say , the tenacity or the principle to make the right decision. They figure they have got to . . . they have got to please their masters by bringing in somebody and saying , Well, Miss Sm ith you work along with this person we brought in and after 30 years you may get the job. That must stop in Bermuda. And I would implore this Government to have that stop ped, Mr. Speaker. We can no longer be on probation to anybody when we have the necessary qualifications — academic qualifications —and a lot of them have the experience, and still not be given the job because, Mr. Speaker, it still occurs in Bermuda. Just by the income survey the disparity widens between blacks and whites , and that is even true with those with degrees . . . it widens. That should not happen. It should be closing up because we have more and more blacks in this country , more and more Bermudians, particularly blacks, qualified. But the blacks are the ones that are suffering based on the Government’s surveys. Mr. Speaker, you have heard many times people say, Bermudians don’t want to work . Bermudians are not going to work for $6.00 an hour. They are not going to work for $10.00 an hour doing landscaping. They deserve a living wage. And if you give people a living wage they would work, Mr. Speaker. B ecause as long as people are living in poverty you are going to have problems like we are having now. I will repeat. I have said it before. Daytime robberies are not the norm for that part icular profession; they no rmally happen in the night when you are asleep. Da ytime robberies are from desperation, it is one where they have got children and they cannot feed them t oday. They cannot go to Financial Assistance because if you go for Financial Assistance, yes, you will get some help, but it will not be today. They have got to feed those mouths right now and I am not condoning any bad behaviour. I am not condoning daytime robberies or night -time robberies. What I am saying is some people will do whatever they have to do to feed mouths. I would do the same thing. Have you ever seen a child starve? You know, Mr. Speaker, I cannot even watch on television when they bring those pr ogrammes on, advertisements on to feed children and I see those little hungry mouths. Do you know what that reminds me of, Mr. Speaker? Those little children look like my little grandchildren. It makes me almost emotional to see children starving and many of this world . . . all these millionaires and billionaires and these children are starving. Money spent on wars and we still have children starving. That should never be because the Lord has provided enough in this world for all of us. And that is why you have the problems all over the world because as long as you have poverty you will have problems like we are having all over the world. Mr. Speaker, you know we have had quite a few robberies in Hamilton Parish. I know a question was asked here probably in 2013/14 by the OBA, they said, Do you feel safe in Bermuda now? I do not know if those are the exact words, but the intent is what I am talking about , and they answered their own question and they sa id, Yes. You cannot ask that question today because the answer would be no. We still have shootings, we still . . . we have got daytime robberies, and the Governor has not done anything. H e is in charge of security, internal and external. Nothing has been done. They have not brought in any experts from overseas to help us with these gangs, but they want to bring in an expert from overseas to help us with ed ucation. That is not the problem.
Mrs. Susan E. JacksonMr. Speaker, I have a point of order on that or a point of clarification . . . point of information.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWhat is your point, Honourable Member? POINT OF CLARIF ICATION
Mrs. Susan E. JacksonMy point is that we have brought in experts. The National Security brought in a team. They have had a very successful Street Wise Programme.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. Thank you. Hon. Derrick V. B urgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, it is obv iously the wrong people because it is not working. I mean, what it . . . it has gotten worse because you have got daytime robberies. You know , it was …
All right. Thank you, Honourable Member. Thank you. Hon. Derrick V. B urgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, it is obv iously the wrong people because it is not working. I mean, what it . . . it has gotten worse because you have got daytime robberies. You know , it was in 2008 that the Premier of this country went twice to Gover nment House to ask for assistance from the United States and was told no. And do you know what is so
Bermuda House of Assembly ironic about that, Mr. Speaker? My good friend and our Prime Minister in the UK , Mr. Cameron—
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, he is . I do have English blood in me, and I am very proud of it. One of my grandmothers was from England and white, and I have no problem with that. So let us get that straight . All right? But Mr. Speaker, Mr. Cameron says when he was faced with questions from the media about the gang violence in the United Kingdom, he said, Well, I’m going to the United States to get some help. But the same representative from the UK here turned it down. And if we would have gotten that help I would venture to say we would have got ten the help in 2008 and we probably would not have it as bad as we have it now. And a lot of these problems from gangs and stuff hap pen because of poverty. I saw a programme one on TV last night, I think it is called Streets of Compton, or something , in LA [Los Angeles], s tricken with poverty, stricken with gang violence, because there is no i ncome. And that is what you get when you have people hungry, when you have people without any money. We did not have that when we had full employment and people making money. We did not have those types of problems in Bermuda. And the thing is when you let these things go on so long, even if you have got full employment in the near future, that culture has nurtured itself where you probably . . . it would take a long time to undo it. You have to nip those things in the bud.
SOUTH BASIN
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, at Doc kyard, the South Basin, I am told they are short of the fill that was brought in, about 25,000 tons, and they are dredging the South B asin to get materials to fill and they are going to use some of the rubble from Victoria Row to try to make it up. Mr. Speaker, the question I ask is they are doing some dredging in the South Basin and I want to know from the Government have they got an expert opinion . . . is that material suitable to use for the reclamation of land?
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Point of clarification, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Carry on, yes. POINT OF CLARIFICATION Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Just to help that Member out. When the fill was brought here some of it was put in the wrong place, so any dredging that is being done in the South Basin is just moving fill to where it …
Yes. Carry on, yes.
POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Just to help that Member out. When the fill was brought here some of it was put in the wrong place, so any dredging that is being done in the South Basin is just moving fill to where it actually should be. So certainly it will be suitable because it is the same stuff. So I just thought I w ould clarify that for the Member.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, the material that you used in Bermuda was gotten way out in the North Shore. You are dredging the South Basin now. That’s on the South Basin. And the q uestion I ask again is, have they gotten an expert …
All right. Thank you.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, the material that you used in Bermuda was gotten way out in the North Shore. You are dredging the South Basin now. That’s on the South Basin. And the q uestion I ask again is, have they gotten an expert opinion on the use of that material? Is it suitable to use to fill up back there? If you are that much short, which is probably about 30 per cent, that will add an extra cost to the $39 mi llion that has al ready been contracted out. So we would like to know what the cost will be? Do you have an expert opinion based on the m aterials you are dredging out now to use there (because it is short)? I understand there is about 25,000 tons short; that is a lot. And will it be ready in time for the American’s Cup, Mr. Speaker? So, we are concerned about that, Mr. Speaker, and we hope that can be ready on time be-cause we all have a stake in that. Mr. Speaker, just two issues with the National Heroes. One is the reminder to the general public about putting in nominations on time. That is one. The second is . . . and I have no problem with Sir John Swan, I think he is a worthy person to have. The other one is that nobody in Cabinet should make a nomination because Cabinet can make the final decision based on a recommendation. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for Education, Minister Wayne Scott. You have the floor. COMMISSIO NER OF EDUCATION Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to be brief because I know everybody wants to get …
All right. Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister for Education, Minister Wayne Scott. You have the floor.
COMMISSIO NER OF EDUCATION Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will try to be brief because I know everybody wants to get up and talk on motion to adjourn. But I want to clarify a couple of things, especially around the spirited comments from the S hadow Minister with regard to the Commissioner of Education. Now, Mr. Speaker, I have stated my views many times on the floor of this House. I would like to see these high posts held by Bermudians. I think we have many qualified people in Bermuda, and there is no question that there is talent still within our comm unity with regard to some of us working and the pos itions that we have. But let me clarify that, from my knowledge, no decision has been made. Why do I say, to my knowledge? As you will be aware, Mr. Speaker, in Part II of the Bermuda Education Act, as 2066 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the Minister I am not part of the process for picking a Commissioner of Education. As a matter of fact, if memory serves me correctly, Part II, [section] 4, it is the Board of Education that makes a recommendation to the PSC [ Public Service Commission]. Why do I know that? Especially with regard to . . . I like what the Member had to say with regard to, Why aren’t our people eligible? It is ridiculous to think that we do not have qualified Bermudians in here. Well, I am very well aware of that, Mr. Speaker, because I changed the rules, or during my tenure the rules had been changed. And I said that on the floor of this House too, because I will not support anything where our Bermudians are not even el igible. Those were your rules! But they have been changed—here. So I appreciate the necessity for them because the rules that were in place before, Mr. Speaker, did not even allow someone who had experience as a principal to even be considered as senior ma nagement experience. So I take that point. But let us not be confused with where those rules were changed to support our Bermudians. I say that because we had a . . . and I do not want to reflect, Mr. Speaker, but when I go back about three weeks ago we had . . . what? A three- hour argument (and I will call it that instead of a debate, if you do not mind) on the necessity of having a joint select committee because we need that to work together for Bermudians. I stood right here and I challenged any Member, Let’s work together, because we do not need a joint select committee to work together, we need a choice. Three weeks running, the Member that just sat down, my cousin, who I have a lot of respect for, who agreed with that wholeheartedly has just come to the House on the motion to adjourn to ask questions that he could have picked up the phone and called the Minister for. Let’s work together. Let’s not just talk about that we need to do this, let’s actually do it.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThis is Parliament. Hon. R. Wayne Scott: This is Parliament, Member from constituency 6.—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Members, speak . . . speak . . . Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Honourable Member from constituency 6.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerJust a minute. — Hon. R. Wayne Scott: And the Member —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerJust a minute, Honourable Member. Honourable Members, let us not be calling across the floor. Let us keep some appropriate dec orum. Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the comment that this is Parliament . . . yes, absolutely. There are some things that if we are …
Just a minute, Honourable Member. Honourable Members, let us not be calling across the floor. Let us keep some appropriate dec orum.
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the comment that this is Parliament . . . yes, absolutely. There are some things that if we are really serious about moving this Island forward, then we will work together and collaborate. Not because there is a joint select committee, not because we are answering and go ing back and forth and interpolating on the motion to adjourn, [but] because we actually pick up the phone proactively and sit down. Mr. Speaker, in my tenure as Minister of this Government since December of 2012, I have had two portfolios —Community, Cult ure and Sports that effectively had all the social services of Bermuda and now Education. Both critical things that I have suggested numerous times, let us address issues with regard to our people and not politicise things that we can act ually work together on. I have had weekly meetings that I have invited Members to come to. I have had press conferences that I have invited Members to attend. Not once in three and a half years has that happened. And we want to talk about things that are in the best interes t of Bermuda with the process that we changed—
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Honourable Member. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The Member is inadvertently or perhaps directly misleading the House. I served as Shadow Minister of Education and I was never once invited to a press conference or a meeting.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Mr. Speaker, that was not u nder my tenure as an Education Minister. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. R. Wayne Scott: That was not —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member, there is not going to be talking across the floor! Hon. R. Wayne Scott: And I appreciate the Member from constituency 17, one of the more progressive and open- minded Members, saying that he was never called. Well, he was never my Shadow Minister, and I am not …
Honourable Member, there is not going to be talking across the floor!
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: And I appreciate the Member from constituency 17, one of the more progressive and open- minded Members, saying that he was never called. Well, he was never my Shadow Minister, and I am not going to call out who those couple people were. Look, it is not about that. It is about do we have
Bermuda House of Assembly a concern with some of the things that are going on in our country? Yes. Are we committ ed to work together to address it or do we want to sit up here and play politics week in and week out? So, again, with regard to the Commissioner, I am not part of that process, Mr. Speaker. I have gotten no official word, nor am I supposed to at this po int. I have tried really hard in my tenure as a Minister not to get in with ministerial interference because I just do not think that that is the way to go. I mean, we see what ministerial interference got us before, and I just do not think that that is th e way to go. I have heard a lot of the rumours as well, and some of them raised concerns, but it is a process and we will see where it goes. But, Mr. Speaker, again, third week running, I have had no calls. I have seen no one. I have had no one reach out . I have [left] the office open, let us sort this out. Let us work this out today. Today, again, while we were having a question period (not to reflect) I again suggested, Let’s work together in putting out some rules. I hope that this time it is taken up. I have no reason to believe that it will not be. But one of the things that concerns me, and especially around education, I mean, we hear a lot of talk about education with all the things we need to do and everything that I will do as a Minister in Educ ation will be from the perspective of “children first” because I do not really hear anybody talking about our children, about them, and what is going to happen with them. They are ultimately the people that we are failing if we do not work together. So, let us focus on that because that will be, actually, a welcome change. I actually would love to get to a point with education where the public is engaged on what we need to do for our children that outlives Ministers. I am not going to be here forever. As a matter of fact, it has been about a year and half since I have been here; I am above average. Over the last 20 years in the tenure of Ministers of Education, as you would know, Mr. Speaker, I guess I must be on borrowed time too, if we look at statistics. But how about putting something in place that survives Ministers, survives whoever is in the civil service, political parties, and such. Because our children will always be our children. Our children will always be our children.
[Inaudible interjections ]
[Gavel] Hon. R. Wayne Scott: And that is something that I want to work toward. And just not try to make ever ything a political game, especially with regard to some things that are this important. Before I sit down, I have to just comment on something that my good friend, and honourable cousin, from constituency 5, was talking about with regard to the problem with people being out of work and some of the antisocial behaviour and us needing to get on top of it. There is a problem out there. But if we lo ok back and reflect on where we were five years ago, four years ago, three years ago, we have gotten a bit better. I appreciate the honesty sometimes of that Member that talked about in 2008, where they sought help and did not actually get it, and had we addressed it back then, where would we be ? Thank goodness that this Government actually did address it and get help and find ways to do it. We are not there yet. So, again, on this I would strongly implore Members to let us work together and try to actuall y serve our country collaboratively, a lot better. Now, Mr. Speaker, this is a motion to adjourn so before I sit down it would be remiss of me if I did not poke a little bit of reality at some of my friends over there, because I hear a lot talking about . . . As a matter of fact, the Member from constituency 36, I believe last week when we were in a motion to ad-journ, was talking about the airport and how the hosp ital was not an issue and the airport is just such a . . . you know, we trying to do this PPP and it is such a big deal. We did not have the outcry . . . Where is the outcry coming from? Over there! The irony behind that, Mr. Speaker —
Hon. Michael J. Scott: The Minister of Education, Mr. Speaker, I have—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHonourable Member. All right. Yes, Honourable Member. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Michael J. Scott: The point of order is very si mple.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Michael J. Scott: That last statement by the Minister of Education is utterly misleading. We have had polls in the country and it is patently clear that there is wide disquiet.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Thank you. Hon. R. Wayne Scott: And, Mr. Speaker, let me just . . . I appreciate some of the concern because we need to make sure that we do things properly and when, you know, as the Minister of Sport and even as Education, travelling around to some …
Okay. Thank you.
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: And, Mr. Speaker, let me just . . . I appreciate some of the concern because we need to make sure that we do things properly and when, you know, as the Minister of Sport and even as Education, travelling around to some of our islands to the south . . . and I would use one as an example because it has been in the paper with their recent referendum, the Bahamas. They have a beautiful airport down in the B ahamas. It kind of makes us look a little bit behind the 2068 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly times. It is something that . . . the irony behind some of this airport . . . Mr. Speaker, as you know, I used to run one of the shipping companies here in Bermuda and I saw elaborate pl ans of an airport that was est imated to cost $400 [million] to $500 million, and I was asked, Why don’t I go to Germany and speak to the parent company to see if they would actually front it and build it for us? And we were not the Government back when “us ” (what I am talking about). So we talk about the hospital, that is a project now that is approximately around the same size as what we are talking about for this airport, which is si gnificantly less than the plan before. You know, we talk about we will be giving away a whole bunch of rev enue. Well, let us think about that. We give about $110 million to the hospital. Right? From the Consolidated Fund.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: From the Consolidated Fund. And there is . . . what? The first payment that had to be made, they were actually asking the Government, asking my Minister of Finance for, you know, $10 [mi llion] to $15 million. Fortunately, they kind of figured that out, so for the $20 million, or whatever, that has to be paid a y ear . . . talk about giving things away. Anyway, Mr. Speaker, my whole point with a lot of this is this is that as Members of this House I do believe that everyone wants what is in the best interest of our country. Would it not be great . . . you know, all of our numbers are in the phone book. Would it not be great if we actually picked up the phone and called one another and actually sat down and sorted stuff out ahead of time and worked on things that are in the best interest of Bermuda? Because as has been said many times, nobody has a monopoly on the best ideas. You know, there are good ideas that we have and there are good ideas that Members across have. Let us deal with it. Let us deal with stuff. Because, Mr. Speaker, again, from the last time we had a threehour discussion about the necessity to work together, I have not had any calls yet. And that offer is open to all these Members. So, again, in closing, Mr. Speaker, I know my good friend from constituency 6 is anxious to get up and start talking a bout the Commissioner again. Let me just remind that Member that those rules have been changed, because when I got here our Bermudians were not even eligible to be considered. That is a problem. It is a problem that was imperative. It is a problem that is now fixed. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister speaks as if we are going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: That is my point. Why, does …
All right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister speaks as if we are going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: That is my point. Why, does he not, before his Cabinet makes a decision, come to us and talk to us so we can help them make better decisions?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I said your Cabinet. I said Cabinet come to us and talk to us before we come up in this House. I said your Cabinet make a decision, I did not say “you .” Because you have to go to Cabinet to get the decision made first. So I am asking the quest ion ... That does not work in the real world. And we expect that. We had asked for joint select committees on certain things. We have done it on the women’s i ssues. And we have done it on a few things. I just felt that the last one on jobs would have been an excellent idea for us to hold hands, because the major issue in this Island right now has to do with creating jobs. And as we said before, I am not going to reflect on the debate, but we have talked about ... at the end of the day, that the knowledge is not all on one side. It is on either side. But coming together we could have made many things work better, and we except that. But you failed that day to stand up and vote with us. So do not come here now talking about we must sing Kumbaya on certain iss ues. For 14 years, or 40 years, both sides beat up on each other. Then 14 years when we switched Government you beat up on the other party ... that is how it works. Okay? But if we can work together on some issues, we can. I am more interested in developing national issues ... interests ... national issues ... national agendas sorry on particular issues. I am past that stage of keeping on back and forth. So I am with you, but it is not going to work because your Cabinet is not going to agree to those issues . But we had our chance, and you want to lay a motion in this House asking for certain things and let us see whether we can do it. But here we are, we do not support ... and it is the craziest thing I have ever seen. We do not believe in each other, as far as Bermudians. We do not believe in each other. When it comes to making dec isions of particular jobs, the whole issue is that we want to attract the best, and we want to attract the most talented person. Well, in any issue in any pr ofession, and we do not have the best ... we do not have the best talent in this House. We can always hire somebody with a work permit to come here and take over our jobs. We can always do that. But our conBermuda House of Assembly stituents believe that we can do something and make some type of valuable contribution to our society.
[Mrs. Suzann Roberts -Holshouser, Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Madam Deputy Speaker, you remember when Mr. Heatley was employed. It was said that he was the best.
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: He was the best. He lasted seven months! You remember Mr. Dunn, who was employed by the Bermuda Development Agency, from Canada. And I will quote what, at that time, Caroline Foulger said—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMember, where are you quoting fr om? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: This is Business Wire. This is actually Business Wire. “Our focus from the beginning has been on finding the most talented and experienced executive in the marketplace today.” He lasted six months. Mr. Ross Webber is there. Mr. Ross …
Member, where are you quoting fr om?
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: This is Business Wire. This is actually Business Wire. “Our focus from the beginning has been on finding the most talented and experienced executive in the marketplace today.” He lasted six months. Mr. Ross Webber is there. Mr. Ross Webber is a Bermudian, and he is doing an excellent job. We do not believe in our Bermudians. I do not know why. And unfortunately, as my honourable colleague said, it is most of us. We have a problem with each other as far as advance ... we get to a certain level and we say, We’re the best. But I am going to tell you right now, every permanent secretary, every director, every position— we can always find somebody better. But we have to give Bermudians a chance. And if they do not work out, then the y have a right to be fired as anybody else. But give a Bermudian a chance. As long as I . . . I was the Minister . . . first of all, when I came back in . . . at 23, I was the Chairman of the Finance Committee at the hospital. They were looking for an accountant. At 23 years old I was Chairman of the Finance Commi ttee down there. The committee got together and they wanted to hire this lady from South Africa. I said, You would, huh? I went out personally and sought out a Bermudian to take that position. Ms. Annarita Marry Woolridge. She was an accountant. I said, We can hire you. The vote went around the room and Mike had the last casting vote, and you know who he voted for? A Bermudian.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberGlory Hallelujah! Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I voted for a Bermudian. When the Vancouver Airport Authority took over the airport, I was the Minister of Transport and I said, I don ’t care where you guys come from, I don ’t mind you being consultants, but I want a Bermudian …
Glory Hallelujah!
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: I voted for a Bermudian. When the Vancouver Airport Authority took over the airport, I was the Minister of Transport and I said, I don ’t care where you guys come from, I don ’t mind you being consultants, but I want a Bermudian in charge. A Mr. Marshall Minors took that position. I could speak from positions on making things happen. That Minister says he asks as if he has never asked his PS a question on that. I cannot believe it. The Minister has not asked, has just been silent, and has not been in office and asked the PS where the position stands. You expect me to believe that? I do not believe that. So, while we are sending out is that we need Bermudians in charge. We do not . . . I was in the B ahamas, [they] have Bahamians in practically every position. But for som e reason, we don’t . . . we have problem with ourselves. We really do. First of all, you are uneducated. First of all, you did not go to the right school . And on and on and on. You did not have enough experience. I came back in 19—
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberTwelve. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Seventy -nine. [Laughter] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: [It was] 1979. And I did not know a debit from a credit. Pricewaterhouse called me up and said, You want to be an accountant? I said, I don’t know a debit from a credit. My degree was …
Twelve. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Seventy -nine. [Laughter] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: [It was] 1979. And I did not know a debit from a credit. Pricewaterhouse called me up and said, You want to be an accountant? I said, I don’t know a debit from a credit. My degree was in physical mathematics. Thanks to Ian Watson and Mr. Kemp, [they] said, We want you. They gave me a chance. Hence, I am an accountant today, a qualified accountant. I did not know it! But somebody believed in me. And so I believe in other Bermudians. I believe in them. And if they do not carry out, I always acknow ledge the Spot Restaurant —every person who works in there is Bermudian. I asked Mr. Powell, Why do you have so many Bermudians and we can’t find other Bermudians at other restaurants? He said , Wayne, because I hire them and if they don’t work out, I get rid of them. Well, we should do that through every [pos ition we] fill. Mr. Powell has got, on a proportionate basis, more Bermudians than any other restaurant. And so it is time to send a message from this Parliament that we want Bermudians in place. That Minister has a responsibility to tell his PS and make it very clear where they stand. It is not about interfering. This is where Government stands and this is what we want carried out. I under stand that he changed some rules, but in 2013 those rules were there, and we hired Heatley. Those rules were too excessive, and I agree with you. Right? But they are too excessive now because we want a Bermudian in place now to make sure that that has work ed out. And, yes, I declare my interest. The PS is my sister -in-law (as the Honourable Minister threw out there). But I do not interfere. I do not interfere with family when it comes to that. But I speak from this room, and I am making it very clear, and 2070 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly whether the person is listening [or not], that we should send a message that Bermudians should be given the right of position. If we cannot address that, we are sending a wrong message for the next generation. We have generations out there that are being born, going to school, and feeling that they are being left out. They feel hopelessness, not a chance that I can accomplish something. At that time, when we had the Department of Education, and we had the chief education officer, every one of them were Berm udians. Yes, we changed it to some fancy name called the Commi ssioner of Education, but the person responsible for schools is the principal. That is who is responsible at schools. The chief education officer was a Bermudian. And we know how schools were carried out at that time. We know how Berkeley and Warwick Academy, and all of our schools performed. And it worked. It worked! And now all of sudden we have to get a foreigner to come here and tell us what we got to do about the education system. Well, that is absolutely wrong, absolutely wrong. I graduated with a degr ee in education personally . I could probably do that job that that person is doing now and I have not even been in school then. But I believe —
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Wayne L. Furber t: How much time do I have left?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: What was that?
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerEleven minutes. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Okay. So I am going to change gear. I think everybody got my point on that. I am very passionate about those things. I am very passionate! I do not want to leave Parliament maybe at the next election knowing that we did not …
Eleven minutes. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Okay. So I am going to change gear. I think everybody got my point on that. I am very passionate about those things. I am very passionate! I do not want to leave Parliament maybe at the next election knowing that we did not accom-plish anything bes ides getting up here and talk . What do we want to tell our future generations? That we let them down? We let them down.
NATIONAL HERO
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Madam Deputy Speaker, anyone in this building knows that Sir John Swan is my mentor. I am not ashamed to say so. As a matter of fact, they tell me I wave like him. [Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Wa yne L. Furbert: Right? I used to watch Sir John, how he waved down the street, and the Hon-ourable Quinton Edness and Jim Woolridge who would be talking to you and waving as he is talking and not looking at you when he is talking. So I acknowledge one of m y heroes in the political arena. But, Madam Deputy Speaker, we have taken that position and it is the first time in history that we have given an individual who rightfully deserves it . . . given it to him in the wrong manner. The Honourable Minister said that in 2012, about Mary Prince. Well, the Royal Gazette , you know, that is the official paper of the OBA, said that way back in to 2012 the Honourable Minister Patrice Minors said they had received 12 letters recommending Mary Prince (at that time), 12 l etters. Hence the Cabinet at that time moved on it. There were 12 letters that came from . . . and as a matter of fact, Mr. Ashfield DeVent, who was on the committee, they called it the Committee of —
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: —it was called . . . just a minute. It was called . . . well, anyway, it was the I nduction Committee, or something. Mr. Ashfield D eVent was there. He was on that committee. [Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: And so, do not bring that nonsense about Cabinet getting the information and giving their blessing. Yes, they do. But they never put the name forward. The Premier of the day never put the name forward. We received 12 letters from indi-viduals that felt that Mary Prince should be the . . . thing. So you cannot have a Premier who I . . . as a matter of fact, I will probably file a document . . . what is it? A PATI thing . . . I want to see the form that the Premier filled out. I want to see the date that he filled it out. You cannot have rules talking about there is a deadline, and then all of sudden if there is a deadline and nobody made his name, make it known. You cannot be saying fill out 2015 forms, the year 2015 nom ination forms, but you are looking for 2016. What is this? Maybe that is wh y it was never filled out. People thought it was 2015. I have not heard anybody make an announcement that we should be recognising our hero. So it is not a problem about Sir John, who is a good friend, who we all respect in this country. Do not . . . he is my mentor. I have no problem with that. You will never see me running from that. But the point is that every other person who received it, received it in a manner that was respec table, which gave proper honour due to the person it was given. Sir John in his writing in the Royal Gazette said he would have liked to thank the many, many, many, many people who recognised me . . . but there was the only one. That was the Premier. So what
Bermuda House of Assembly happened? All of a sudden you find out that you didn’t have a person and the Cabinet said, We’re going to pick Sir John? That cannot be right. And he rightfully does [need] to be recognised as our National Hero. You will never see that from Wayne Furbert . It is the process that has gone wrong. And so because the process has gone wrong, it has been belittled the actual honouring of this individual man. We have actually lowered the standard for a great man who has served this country. The longest serving Premier, we have undermined the individual himself. We have. I wish Sir Jo hn would say, Take it back. And then we will give it to him in the following year. But it is wrong. And you cannot say it is right. I do not know. I know you have secret Cabinet meetings. But I know that none of you can stand and tell me that it never went to a committee. Nobody knows the committee. The Minister does not even know the committee’s name, who is on the committee. So it never went to committee. A committee has never made a reco mmendation.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Well, you can ask answer it. The Honourable Minister said that it is not true. But it definitely did not come from the committee. Well, maybe on the last day, he said, Take a look at this name. But you cannot —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMember, please talk to the Chair. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: You cannot have the Pr emier or the Cabinet recommend it. That is absolutely . . . I have never heard of such nonsense. It is abs olutely wrong. How much time I have left? [Inaudible interjections] UNITED AIRLINES PULLING …
Member, please talk to the Chair. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: You cannot have the Pr emier or the Cabinet recommend it. That is absolutely . . . I have never heard of such nonsense. It is abs olutely wrong. How much time I have left? [Inaudible interjections]
UNITED AIRLINES PULLING OUT OF BERMUDA Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Well, I see the Junior Mini ster is not here, but I wanted verification from the Cabinet, and the Junior Minister in particular. I understand that United Airlines will be leaving Bermuda in September this year and will not be returning until May the following year. After all the hard work that my honourable friend, Mr. Shawn Crockwell, has done, as far as getting United to stay for the winter season. Can the Government confirm whether United Airlines is pulling out in September and they are not coming back until the following May? So something has gone wrong. They either looked at the numbers and they are not adding up and they are saying, I’m out of here. Or somebody needs to verify exactly what is happening. [Inaudible i nterjections]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Am I missing something? So, in my closing, Madam Deputy Speaker, I do not have much time, I could speak for another half an hour, but —
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Well, I am going to sit down and let other Members of my colleagues speak. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Member from . . . sorry, I am just looking for the sheets. The Chair recognises the Member from constituency . . . can you help me out? [Inaudible interjections] Some Hon. Member s: Thirty.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy Speaker[Constituency] 30. You have the floor. COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Ms. Leah K. ScottThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I understand that the Minister has said that there has not been anyone picked for the post of Commissioner of Education yet. And I understand that it is the PSC that makes the final decision, and I appreciate that there should not …
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I understand that the Minister has said that there has not been anyone picked for the post of Commissioner of Education yet. And I understand that it is the PSC that makes the final decision, and I appreciate that there should not be any ministerial interference. Unfortunately, the a ppointment is going to take place under the OBA Government and if we do not get it right then we are going to take the rap for not making the correct appointment. I agree that there should be a Bermudian in the post. I cannot understand why we have five doctors: Dr. Matthews, Dr. Simmons, [Dr.] Freddie Evans, I think Dr. Gina Tucker was also in the running, and I think there was someone else (but I do not know who it was). But I think that the important thing is that we have people in that department who have developed relationships with principals, and have developed rel ationships with the students. [Dr.] Freddie Evans has been in the post I think for the past 15 months. And when I was Junior Minister of Education, I went around to the schools with Freddie Evans. I think it was two and a half years ago. And what impressed me the most about Mr. E vans was that every school that we went to from Dalton E. Tucker [Primary] all the way up to the West End, everybody knew him. The principals were like, Mr. Evans, Mr. Evans. And teachers were . . . and it was a relationship and it was an interaction and it was not 2072 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly superficial. It was not, you know, . . . it showed that he had put time and invested time in developing these relationships. So I think that w e have to give kudos to the people here who have the talent to bring along our principals, our teachers and our students. I do not know why it is deemed to be that people from outside of Bermuda have greater knowledge than people who are in Bermuda. I think that while somebody may have the expertise, the relationships that you develop with people are sometimes far more important than the expertise. You can gain the knowledge, but it is impor-tant to have relationships because you are requiring people to do difficult things. People are not going to want to do those things if you do not have a relatio nship with them, if you cannot encourage them, if you cannot show the reasons why they need to do these things. Yes, you have to develop them and spur their talent . I will be disappointed if there is not a Bermudian Commissioner of Education. I see no reason why we cannot. I see the talent that is already down there, and I cannot believe that every person that is down there is completely inadequate in terms of their ability to be able to provide the leadership and the knowledge that is necessary to be the Commissioner of Education. We cannot encourage Bermudians to come home to work if we cannot select the people that are already here. If people do not have hope and do not think they have any opportunities in their own country, then we are not going to get that intellectual capital back and our culture is going to develop into som ething that is not us, because we are going to always look outside of the talent that we have here. And we have a lot of people here who can do a lot of wonderful things with our children and with our teachers. I think it is important that we look inside first and develop what is already here. So I am disappointed if it is not going to be someone from Bermuda. I think for the past 15 months Freddie Evans has been in the role and he has done a stellar job. It has been very quiet, which indicates to me that he has been doing something right. I mean, teachers have their issues that they have bee n dealing with generally, but I think that he has done a very good job. I think the most insulting thing, if he is not given the position and we have someone from outside that takes the post, would be that he is asked to sup-port and assist [that person]. If he is good enough to assist, then why is he not good enough for the job? I think that we make that mistake all the time. We assign someone that is not from here, who is not aware of our culture, who does not have the relationship and does not want to develop the relationship, to come here and take a leadership role, and then we are asked as Bermudians to undergird that person. I do not think that it is fair. I do not think that it is right. So I hope that in this decision they do some soul-searching and some thinking and I hope they make the right decision and appoint a Bermudian to that job.
[Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Member. The Chair recognises the Member from constituency 17. Appreciating the quick foot movement, Mr. C. W. D. Br own, you have the floor.
Mr. Walton BrownThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Timing is always important, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Inaudible interjections]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberCheater. NATIONAL HERO
Mr. Walton BrownI play by the rules; I was recognised b y the Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I just want to speak on two issues. I would like to speak on the issue of National Heroes, and then on Education. I am not sure what a national hero is, Madam Deputy …
I play by the rules; I was recognised b y the Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I just want to speak on two issues. I would like to speak on the issue of National Heroes, and then on Education. I am not sure what a national hero is, Madam Deputy Speaker. I would love for someone to explain to me what a National Hero is. So maybe we need to have that debate again about what constitutes a National Hero. I am just confused. I read a lot. I pay attention to a lot of what is going on. I always understood a National Hero to be someone who has made a clear, definitive contribution to the improvement and condition of a cou ntry. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe we have another way finding what a National Hero is. But, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will not dwell on that issue. What I will say is that we have a reall y good opportunity to take the National Hero Award pr ogramme and transform it into something that can properly recognise the multitude of Bermudians who over the course of a year make a number of contributions in many different areas. We now have a system that we have inherited from our colonial masters, called the silly little Queen’s awards. What are they called? Queen’s Birthday Honours. Right. So they are demeaning in a modern democracy and in twenty -first century Bermuda. To call someone a Knight of the Empire is just ridiculous. It is ridiculous. To call som eone a Commander of the British Empire is just ridic ulous. But we just carry on with it. The problem, Madam Deputy Speaker, is that there are some people who would never accept such an award, becaus e they too find it demeaning. And I know, for example, someone who was one of my mentors, the late, powerful, heroic, Dr. Roosevelt Brown, Pauulu Kamarakafego, he would never have
Bermuda House of Assembly accepted a Queen’s Award. But he was undoubtedly someone who made a transfor mative contribution to our country. So I would encourage the Government, taking the initiative from the Minister of Education. Let us extend a hand across the floor, let us sit down t ogether and try to find a system where we can reco gnise people who have made sterling contributions to this country in a multitude of areas. It could be bus iness. It could be politics. It could be culture. It could in society at large. But let’s do it. Let us dispense with this outdated colonial system of Queen’s Awards, first of all, and transform the national awards into a much broader scheme. And then have a real intelligent di scussion about what constitutes a National Hero . Because a National Hero should be someone who is i nstantly recognised for their contribution to a country. That is what a National Hero is, someone who is i nstantly recognised for their contribution, where that contribution can be clearly identified. And if we fail to do that, Madam Deputy Speaker, what we effectively do is denigrate the entire award sys tem. So one person has made a sterling contribution, someone else has not; yet, they have the same award. So of what value is the National Hero Award if there is such asymmetry in the awarding of such an honour? So I take the initiative from the Minister of Education. I take everyone at their word until they prove otherwise. So, Minister, let us begin that di alogue. Let us talk about ways in which we can enhance a national awards system. Let us eliminate altogether Queen’s Awards. Let us come to an agreement on that. Can we do that, Government Members? Can we come to a position where we no longer recommend people for demeaning, colonial awards? I would like to hear a comment on that. If we can do that, then we can really make some progress and properly recognise people who truly have made contributions who would never accept an award from a colonial master.
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Mr. Walton BrownNow, let me talk a little bit about education. The preamble to my comment on educ ation, Madam Deputy Speaker, is that look at us, in 2016, we are having a discussion about whether or not a Bermudian should be running one of the most important ministries in our country. …
Now, let me talk a little bit about education. The preamble to my comment on educ ation, Madam Deputy Speaker, is that look at us, in 2016, we are having a discussion about whether or not a Bermudian should be running one of the most important ministries in our country. We are actually having a parliamentary debate about whether a Bermudian should run a ministry .
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Walton BrownEveryone says education is crit ical, fundamental to the opportunities for our young people for a whole litany of reasons. But we are debating it. I would like to think that our point of depar-ture is that Bermudians should come first in their own country. That should be the point …
Everyone says education is crit ical, fundamental to the opportunities for our young people for a whole litany of reasons. But we are debating it. I would like to think that our point of depar-ture is that Bermudians should come first in their own country. That should be the point of departure we should all embrace. And I do not need to hear anyone making a silly comment that invokes a sense of xenophobia or a sense of hostility toward anyone else because to support your nationals, having a place of prominence in your country, is the right thing to do. It is what cou ntries that care about its people do. And you can do it in a framework which recognises the absolutely stellar contribution of people from all over the world. I cer-tainly embrace that. I know many people in this House embrace that. So let us not get caught up in the game of us versus them. You should not apologise for sa ying that Bermudians should come first in their own country. So take that mindset, Madam Deputy Speaker, and apply it to education. We have people who sit in the Ministry of Education who have achieved every single thing that society tells them to achieve in order to achieve success. The empirical objective evidence is there. That is not subject to debate. That is very clear. The Minister says that he does not want to interfere in a decision.
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Walton BrownI cannot hear anyone who is not speaking through the Chair. But, Madam Deputy Speaker, what I will say, is that the Minister can give direction. I served for five years as Chairman of Bermuda College and I thought the Act gave me a whole lot of power to do …
I cannot hear anyone who is not speaking through the Chair. But, Madam Deputy Speaker, what I will say, is that the Minister can give direction. I served for five years as Chairman of Bermuda College and I thought the Act gave me a whole lot of power to do whatever I wanted to. It was board, until the Minister said, Well, remember this section in the A ct, which says ‘subject to ministerial direction.’ Why can a Minister not just say to its board, I am directing you to find a Bermudian to fill that pos ition? I do not need to hear arguments about this qual ification and that experience. Because the point my colleague, Wayne Furbert, made a while ago, was that for a country — Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Point of clarification.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of clarific ation? POINT OF CLARIFICATION Hon. R. Wayne Scott: I would just like to clarify that the Act actually is very specific on this particular piece. But I have stated my position on the floor of this House many times.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Member. The Chair recognises —
Mr. Walton BrownThank you for the clarification. 2074 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly You know what? We sit in the legislature, so whatever limitations are imposed by legislation, we can fix. So if there is sincerity of intent, change the law to allow the Minister to have …
Thank you for the clarification. 2074 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly You know what? We sit in the legislature, so whatever limitations are imposed by legislation, we can fix. So if there is sincerity of intent, change the law to allow the Minister to have the power to do what is right. We will support you. We will hold hands and . . . well, I will leave that part alone. We will hold hands on that issue and support an initiative to change the le gislature. So, Madam Deputy Speaker, you just need to say, You don’t need to have the best person in the world to fill any position in Bermuda. A population, a born- in-Bermuda population of about 40,000, you are never going to get . . . sorry, let me get this straight. There is a statistical improbability that Bermuda will ever get the best person in the world to fill any job. Because there are ho w many people in the world? Seven billion? Right. So with 40,000 you are unlikely to get the best person in Bermuda. What you need is someone who is competent. Companies give that line to Government and Immigration and say, We need the best person in the world. They do not even believe it! They want the person who they want. They are not getting the best per-son in the world. But we buy into it, and we have done it for a long time. So, we need to have a commitment that says that Bermudian should come first. The Mi nister needs to give direction. If you want to legislate it to give the power to do so now, get the power. That is why we are here! You cannot just say you are hamstrung by legislation, yet you want to do something. Come to this House [and] change t he law. It is demeaning that we are having this d ebate. Education is fundamental. When you cannot relate to our students to our young people, you are going to have challenges. I would like to see Gover nment take real leadership on education. And when I say that, I am not saying it in the truly partisan way. I am saying that I want Government to consistently take charge of education to ensure that our young people can make progress, firstly. Secondly, instil greater confidence in public education, because i f you hear some of the comments that are being thrown out there, some parents must be wondering whether they are doing the right thing for their children by keeping them in public education. I am a product of public education —primary school, high school, B ermuda College. My parents did not have wherewithal to send me to private school. But, more importantly, they would not have anyway.
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Walton BrownAnd I did not have to. Well, when you say didn’t have to, I am not going to get into that. There are people who believe that they need to send their children to private school. Some of it is just class driven. I make enough money; I want to …
And I did not have to. Well, when you say didn’t have to, I am not going to get into that. There are people who believe that they need to send their children to private school. Some of it is just class driven. I make enough money; I want to be able to show through my consumption pattern, that I have made it . So my children are going to private school. It is class, it is all class driven. Not all, but some of it is. We need to get back to the level of conf idence, so you hire Bermudian principals to run schools. You give that principal autonomy. Get the Ministry of Education off t he back of principals. Ensure the schools are properly funded. This Government has taken away money from education and given it to the America’s Cup [and] given it to the airport.
Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Point of order. Point of order.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYour point of order? POINT OF ORDER Hon. R. Wayne Scott: You know, I almost, Madam Deputy Speaker, would like to get up and actually speak again.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYour point of order is? Hon. R. Wayne Scott: My point of order is with regard to the money that this Government has taken away from education. The previous Government removed $30 million over the last couple of years of education. We have been providing adequate funding for educ ation.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. The Chair recognises the Member.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerJust have a seat for a second while the Member in front you calms down. Thank you, please proceed.
Mr. Walton BrownThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Just for the sake of the Hansard, and for the listening public, I would not want anyone to be confused by the Minister’s comment. But just on the issue of scholarships and further education funding, the One Bermuda Alliance Government decreased scholarship funding from $1.2 …
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Just for the sake of the Hansard, and for the listening public, I would not want anyone to be confused by the Minister’s comment. But just on the issue of scholarships and further education funding, the One Bermuda Alliance Government decreased scholarship funding from $1.2 million in one year to $80,000 in one year. That is a fact. It is in the Budget Book.
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. R . Wayne Scott: Point of order.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAnd the point of order is? POINT OF CLARIFICATION Hon. R. Wayne Scott: Point of clarification.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerIt is a point of clarification? Mem ber, will you yield? [Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Member yields, please proceed. Hon. R. Wayne Scott: That Member is misleading the House.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberPoint of order or point of clarific ation, which is it? Hon. R. Wayne Scott: This Minister has increased scholarships.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Member from constituency 17.
Mr. Walton BrownWell, you know, Madam Deputy Speaker? I taught politics at Bermuda College for 12 years. Introductory pol itics, so Politics 101. Under the Westminster system there is thing called “collective responsibility.” So when I say “you,” I mean “the Go vernment.” It is collective responsibility. I am not speaking about …
Mr. Walton BrownOkay. Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to be allowed to finish my thought. [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Walton BrownSo you empower the schools, you give proper resources to the schools; you do not take away money. When you have a properly resourced school then you can say to the principal, Here are the standards that we want you to meet. Meet those standards or you will no longer …
So you empower the schools, you give proper resources to the schools; you do not take away money. When you have a properly resourced school then you can say to the principal, Here are the standards that we want you to meet. Meet those standards or you will no longer be principal. It requires courage. It requires leadership. So you need a tough Commissioner of Educ ation to make those calls. But you need to have pro perly funded schools to begin with. If you do not pro perly fund schools, what do you do? You take away opportunities. You deny people the chance to pursue dreams. You create a disaffected population. A disaffected and alienated population is an unruly popul ation. They have no regard for law and order because they do not feel like participants in that society. If you see economic growth and you are not a part of it be-cause you were denied opportunities, because you could not get a scholarship to go off to college or un iversity; if you could not get the opportunity to do things and you feel you have nothing to lose, you will become someone who challenges the social fabric of this country. So it is all intertwined, Madam Deputy Speaker. We started this debate about a Commissioner of Education. But it is not just about a person running a Government Ministry. It is about the effect on the populous. It is about the effect on the people. And when it comes to education, we have talked about young people. We are talking about disaffected young people. We are talking about a system where conf idence is lacking, where confidence should be increas-ing. So here is what we need to do. Get a Bermudian that has a higher degree of probability and is much more committed to this country. It is no disr espect for anyone who comes from overseas, but we had one commissioner who after eight months said, You know what? I’m going to leave for . . . what he thought greener pastures , because he had no fundamental commitment to this country. So in selecting a Bermudian, you have someone who will have a higher probability of filling, first of all, because he or she is rooted in this country. He or she will have to answer to his relatives, to niec es and nephews, to his friends, and other members of the public. So it is critically important, Government Members. I want to hear a united chorus from you. I want to hear you say [that] you fundamentally accept that Bermudians should come first in their o wn country. I want to hear you say you will direct the Board of Edu-cation . . . by the way, I have a lot of respect for the people on the board. I know every member on the Board of Education— bright, capable, people with i ntegrity. But they need to be given a directive that says a Bermudian needs to be appointed. We do not need to apologise for that. I want to hear this Government say, We believe in Bermuda. We believe in Bermudians and we will do the right thing. If we cannot say that . . . if you cannot s ay that, and if we cannot do it, then I will remain deeply concerned —deeply concerned— about the future of our country. Because when we have a disaffected young population, you will have a disaffected comm unity. A disaffected community does not bode well for the long term. It does not bode well for the long term. And so I say this with all sincerity, let us move forward. Let us take the Minister of Education’s directive. Let us move forward, hold hands, and find a way to put things in place that are right. M ake no apologies, but do the right thing. 2076 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Member. The Chair recognise the Member from constituency 31, Mr. S. G. Crockwell, you have the floor.
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise today to join in the righteous indication, as defined by the Attorney General, which I understand is anger directed towards mistreatment and insult. And I believe that the appar-ent awarding of the Commissioner of E ducation pos ition to a …
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise today to join in the righteous indication, as defined by the Attorney General, which I understand is anger directed towards mistreatment and insult. And I believe that the appar-ent awarding of the Commissioner of E ducation pos ition to a non- Bermudian deserves the reaction of righteous indignation. I believe that, specifically for this circumstance, because I understand what the Honourable Member who just took his seat said, that he wants us all to get up and say t hat we believe in Bermuda, we believe in Bermudians, and Bermudians first. I will get up and join the chorus. I do think sometimes, Madam Deputy Speaker, that there are times when we need to bring in foreign expertise. I believe that. And when I was the Minister the times arose, for example, with the Gaming Commission. I felt that we needed to have a foreigner to run the Gaming Commission because no one else in Bermuda has ever done it. And I believe, and some Members may have disagreed with me on this poi nt, but on another point, that with the BTA . . . we have never had a Tourism Authority. At that time I felt that we needed to get foreign expertise. But I will tell you, Madam Deputy Speaker, I made it clear when I was the Minister. I made it clear that the successor for the BTA needs to be a Bermudian—needs to be a Bermudian. Now, we know that the CEO of the BTA has given his indication that he will not be applying for his renewal, and I am expecting for the successor to be a Bermudian. And if it is not, I will be on my feet again. But in this case, the specifics of this case concern me. Because when the last . . . this is not the first time we are hiring a Commissioner of Education. Correct me if I am wrong, I believe it is the third. It is the third ti me. And we have had acting Commissioners of Education for almost two years. So the last full - time Commissioner of Education, who happened to be a disaster, the foreign . . . was it Heatley?
Mr. Shawn G. Crockwell[It] turned out to be a di saster, Madam Deputy Speaker —unmitigated disaster. [He] came here and there was nothing but chaos. And he had to leave, okay? And after he left we put Bermudians in place as Acting Commissioners of Education. Are you going to tell me that during …
[It] turned out to be a di saster, Madam Deputy Speaker —unmitigated disaster. [He] came here and there was nothing but chaos. And he had to leave, okay? And after he left we put Bermudians in place as Acting Commissioners of Education. Are you going to tell me that during t hat timeframe the necessary training could not have been done? And we are talking about training people with PhDs, Madam Deputy Speaker. So I cannot really understand. But you know what? No matter how high you go, Madam Deputy Speaker, there is always a t hing called “continuing education” in every profession. Okay? And I have no issue if someone were told, You know what? We are earmarking this position for one of you, and we are going to give you all some special training, take a specific course, go to another jurisdi ction, whatever needed to be done. But to come here two years later, after we had the debacle under Heatley —and we are not talking about a new pos ition—and you are going to tell me that one of these eminently qualified individuals will not get the job? My information is that the job has been offered to this foreigner. We will see how accurate that is. But I have a problem because I know Dr. Freddie Evans. I know him. I know him personally. I knew him when he was the principal of Whitney, doing a fantastic job there. Dr. Freddie Evans, with a PhD, is not a young man . . . well, a young man, yes, rel atively. But he is not new to the profession. He is not straight out of graduate school. This is a man in his 50s who has worked as a principal, who has run schools, who has worked at the highest level in education. You are going to tell me that in his 50s, after all of his educational acquisition, after all of his exper ience, he is being told that he does not qualify? Som ething is wrong. Something is w rong. Now, I know Dr. Lou Matthews. I understand he did not apply. I went to school with Dr. Lou Mat-thews. He is an extraordinarily bright Bermudian. Something is wrong. Something is wrong when our qualified, highly educated Bermudians who have attained P hD education, who have worked in the educ ation system for years, who can act in the position, are being overlooked. Something is wrong. And so I believe that the righteous indignation is warranted in this case, Mr. Speaker.
[Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair]
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellNow, the Minister says, and I take his point, that he does not make the dec ision. The Cabinet does not make the decision. The decision is made by the PSC. And that is a fact. I take the point because the Minist er and I have had conversations on …
Now, the Minister says, and I take his point, that he does not make the dec ision. The Cabinet does not make the decision. The decision is made by the PSC. And that is a fact. I take the point because the Minist er and I have had conversations on this privately. I take the point that the rules needed to be changed in order for these individuals to qualify. But I am disappointed that after the rules were changed the results did not change. What is the point of changing the rules if the results remain the same? If you change the rules, then I expect the results to change as well. So it makes a mockery of changing the rules. What went wrong, and why? Because the conversation I had, we both agreed that we have got to put these types of critical situations in the hands of
Bermuda House of Assembly our own people because they have a vested interest in getting it right. We saw what happened with Heatley. We know what his interest was —and it was not the students. It was not the students. But let a Bermudian . . . there was a gentleman who was here earlier in the Gallery, Mr. Speaker. I did not expect him to come. He is a very good friend of mine; I love him. It was Dr. Bascome, who taught at Sandys Secondary for years. He is a brilliant man, and a man that loves the people. I told him that I wish ed that he was available to be the Commissioner of Education because it is people like him who have dedicated their lives, a man who has taught three and four generations. He said to me, When I was teaching a great grandchild, I knew I had to retire.
[Laughter]
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellThat is how long he was in education —because he loved it! Loved it! Committed and dedicated! He teaches now part time at the Adult Education School and he still teaches GED at Wes tgate. That is dedication, because the man is invested in his country. And that is what …
That is how long he was in education —because he loved it! Loved it! Committed and dedicated! He teaches now part time at the Adult Education School and he still teaches GED at Wes tgate. That is dedication, because the man is invested in his country. And that is what you need at the head of education. So somebody needs to wake up. They need to wake up on this one and do the right thing. Okay? Because you cannot tell me we do not have qualified people. You cannot tell me we do not have people with experience. I am sorry, it does not cut it. So I expect something to be done because the rules have been changed, but the results have remained the same.
NATIONAL HERO
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellMr. Speaker, I also want to speak on the issue of the next National Hero, who is Sir John Swan, who I believe is a hero in this country. I have a tremendous amount of respect and adoration for Sir John Swan. I have had the opportunity . . . …
Mr. Speaker, I also want to speak on the issue of the next National Hero, who is Sir John Swan, who I believe is a hero in this country. I have a tremendous amount of respect and adoration for Sir John Swan. I have had the opportunity . . . in fact, I saw him this morning. I was able to tell him face to face and congratulate him on becoming the first living National Hero—making history again, as he has done all his life. I will not denigrate in any way or undermine in any way his selection. But I am concerned, Mr. Speaker, that we are awarding the highest honour that anyone can receive in any country while they are still alive. Yes, we need to recognise people, and Sir John Swan, as a knighted individual, has been recognised. And I will get up o n my feet . . . in fact, I told him this morning that he did something for me once that changed my life, just because he is Sir John Swan. He has a way of making you feel like you are the most important person in the world. That is his gift. No matter whom you were, no matter where you came from. I have had the opportunity to socialise with him; I have been in his home. He has been a mentor. He has been an advisor. I have no issue with his selection, but I do not believe that a person’s legacy can be determ ined while they are alive. I do not believe it. And I know that it was a policy that these appointments should be posthumous, because it takes time, Mr. Speaker, for someone’s legacy to be settled. It requires analysis. It requires examination. It requires reflection. And then you can go back and look at the entire body of work of that individual’s life and determine whether or not they are suitable for this honour. Now, I believe the body of the work of Sir John Swan qualifies, but . . . And I will tell y ou this. If there is anybody, Mr. Speaker, who can shoulder the burden of living as a National Hero, it is Sir John Swan. I believe he would carry it with dignity. But I do not believe it is a burden that anybody should carry while they are alive. No one s hould carry the burden of being a National Hero, a living National Hero, b ecause we all can make mistakes along the way. And making mistakes is part of life. I have made them. And you have opportunities to overcome them, and be r edeemed. But, Mr. Speaker, I believe it takes time. And you know what? When I am dead and gone, I hope that someone can look back and examine the totality of my life, and look at my mistakes and look at my accomplishments and make an assessment. But you know what? They cannot do it now because, guess what? I have time left and no one knows what I am going to do. My plan, Mr. Speaker, is to continue to do well. That is my plan. But I think on principle, Mr. Speaker, this most prestigious designation should be reserved for those posthumously. That is appropriate. But in this case I will celebrate. I will celebrate the selection of Sir John. I embraced him today. If there is anyone alive to be able to justify it, it is him. He will carry it, Mr. Speaker, in a dignified way as he has done with everything. And going forward, it will be interesting how we select our National Hero es. But I think sometimes we have to be careful what we do for political expediency.
Mr. Shawn G. CrockwellYou have to be careful, Mr. Speaker, because we can set a bad precedent. And so I just stand and say that it is time, whether it is the PSC, or whomever it may be, Mr. Speaker, that we ensure that the Bermudians in this country who have worked hard, …
You have to be careful, Mr. Speaker, because we can set a bad precedent. And so I just stand and say that it is time, whether it is the PSC, or whomever it may be, Mr. Speaker, that we ensure that the Bermudians in this country who have worked hard, who have gone to school, who have applied themselves . . . I know what it is like sitting these types of professional exams. It is tough. Okay? It is tough. That is why there are high failure rates in most of these difficult designations. And you have individuals, Bermudians, who have gone t hrough that and attained the qualifications, who have come back and after years . . . I can understand 2078 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly your first application, but when you have achieved greatness in your profession and then you reach the highest level, particularly after you have been gi ven an opportunity to act in that position and been deemed to do well . . . it is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that these individuals have been overlooked. So I hope that the Minister will endeavour to do something about that and as we go forward we can celebrate and certainly provide the opportunities that Bermudians rightfully deserve. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 15, MP Roban. COMMISSI ONER OF EDUCATION
Mr. Walter H. RobanThank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say, Mr. Speaker, we have heard some interesting things today in this motion to adjourn. It does appear, Mr. Speaker (and I will speak on a few things), that one of the prevailing the mes is how do we appropriately recognise our Bermudian cit …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I must say, Mr. Speaker, we have heard some interesting things today in this motion to adjourn. It does appear, Mr. Speaker (and I will speak on a few things), that one of the prevailing the mes is how do we appropriately recognise our Bermudian cit izens? Howe do we appropriately reward their potential leadership and even their genius and their contr ibution? That seems to be the broad theme that we are talking about, Mr. Speaker. We have the issues concerning around education. It is very interesting, because I think that . . . and this is not an effort to take too much of a jab at the OBA, but we have had three years to examine and take stock of what we have seen from the Gover nment. There has been a very mixed track record with leadership when it comes to this Government. And when I say “leadership” I am talking about leadership in selection of significant institutions that have respo nsibility for the affairs of this country. We have had ever ything from the Regulatory Authority go through a process of leadership resigning and trying to find new leaders, and in some cases even who was selected —which inevitably was not a Bermudian—seemingly not lasting long. We have seen it in education. And as the Honourable and Learned Member who sat down just prior [spoke about], the episode of Dr. Heatley was a disgrace. And presumably, many of the persons on the same board, which I do not doubt their commitment to what they believe is their purpose and job as the board, did participate in that process of selection. We know because they were with the thenMinisters when they presented the recommendations and Dr. Heatley was presented to the country. But I am concerned whether people actually take real responsibility for the decisions they make and whether in the back of some people’s minds there is a true commitment to Bermudians being in charge. At least from my standpoint, Mr. Speaker, I think there is something that we must be prepared to do if we truly ha ve any faith in who we are, our identify as country, its current place in the world. Not that I would like that place to change, because I think that even our country’s role in the world can evolve. But if we believe in ourselves, we should believe in the fruits of our country, the fruits of our society. When I look at us as a country, we have had, I guess . . . what . . . Education was desegregated around 1966, 1968. So we have had like 50 years of sort of an institutional framework of education which has been somewhat dedicated fully (I would say) in its fullness to the development of Bermudians. It went from a situation where it was segregated and people like my parents, and perhaps you, Mr. Speaker . . . and I am not suggesting that you are old at all, Mr. Speaker, I am just suggesting that you are person who had to be subjected to a legacy of segregated education in this country. But despite that, you and others, and many people still with us today, achieved—many of them —to the highest heights. In fact, the very gentleman who the Honourable Member spoke of, who we have heard has been given the most honourable recognition of National Hero . . . and I am almost puzzled why because we did hear a Statement today, Mr. Speaker, on that ge ntleman, that his life is a lot more colourful than these statements that we heard today about him. Because his life has been a life of genuine struggle to achieve. He is a gentleman who had a challenge with his eyesight. I believe he may have had dyslexia. He also went to Howard Academy, and not that there is any problem with Howard Academy, but let us face it, in a system of education that was segregated, Howard Academy was a school that was taking young men and women who perhaps the traditional system of the day did not see a value for education. And Mr. Ski nner, and the others who were there. Dr. Pauulu was also there. It took them and gave them an opportunity. Sir John and the Honourable Member who sits for constituency 1 were products of Howard Academy. It took people like Sir John, as young black boys in a segregated Bermuda and gave them the opportunity to have value. Some of them became leaders of the country —in a Bermuda that did not aspire for them to be that. That, perhaps, is one of the treasures of the legacy that Si r John leaves, with many others, to transcend almost the impossible and to make it possible. That, in some cases, is the legacy of somebody you might call a hero—to take the impossible and make it possible for someone, or to be an example of the i mpossible and become the possible and be an inspir ation for others. Our other National Hero es in many ways exemplify that as well. But I go back to education, Mr. Speaker, in that here we are having 50 years of desegregated education, a system that has had at different times of its history significant Bermudian participation in teac hBermuda House of Assembly ing, and in itself produced generations of Bermudians who have moved from being just students to being scholars to being leaders in all aspects of life. But there has been this challenge in finding a leadership for that system. Even after 50 years of institutional existence as a desegregated system that finally was available to all it has not produced, consistently, its own leadership, or it seems difficult to do that. So amongst the people now, who have PhDs and master’s degrees, most of whom are products of the Bermuda system, amongst them we cannot find our leaders? We cannot find someone to lead? Or we are not prepared to take the . . . maybe that is what the issue is. Maybe we are not prepared to take the risk to lead, to give them the leadership, because we are afraid of something, Mr. Speaker. But what are we afraid of? I am prepared to ask in this House, and I say this with no disrespect to anybody on the board, or even the Public Service Commission, the PSC, What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of failure? Well, welcome to the club. Everybody here has failed in some way. The Honourable Member said, We often fall down in this life. We do not achieve something that we desire, or that we should be achieving. But that is life. Are they afraid to make a risky decision to put the risk and faith of education in the hands of Bermudian leadership? Because that is what it seems in the last two . . . a possible selec tion coming, and I am going to say “possible” because we have not heard it officially, but the selection prior to that? Even after having given the opportunity to act to Bermudians, and presumably because nothing blew up down at South Side or anywhere els e things seem to work pretty good under the acting persons. Right? Nothing blew up; nobody experienced anything so, like, calamitous that brought the question of the whole safety and security and stability of the education sy stem at risk during these past two years. So what is the problem, Mr. Speaker? What is the problem with those who have the responsibility of choosing? And I am prepared to say right now that depending on what the decision is, and this may be extreme, maybe the Minister who has the power to choose the board might even be thinking about a di fferent board that actually reflects the aspirations not of just exclusively the board but also the aspirations of what the country wants for education. Maybe that is what is missing. Maybe the board does not respect the aspirations, or does not know, or is ignorant to the aspirations of this country and its people in education. So they make choices that do not reflect that. And so far their record in the past three years is lousy. So far! So maybe it i s a question that the board members do not and are not connected enough to the system and what are the requirements that the system has and what are the aspirations of this country for the system. And maybe they need to be held accountable for that because they can make a decision and kind of just exist on. It is the Minister and other people who take the liability of it. Well, maybe the board needs to take the liability for a bad decision. Maybe they should have the liability for Dr. Heatley. Maybe they ne ed to take the liability for the success or failure of the cand idates that they choose, whether they are Bermudian or not, Mr. Speaker. Maybe that is what is missing— accountability for those who are participating in this process that is putting us into a s ituation where we have to debate whether Bermudian leadership in one of the most important institutions of our society is needed, or is valued, or is credible. This is not a discussion that we should be having. Not at this point after having multiple gener ations of a system that has evolved and produced world scholars, that has produced doctors and la wyers, people at the highest level of academia here and abroad. So I ask that question. Maybe the accountabi lity needs to be put where it should be. And maybe those who are accountable need to understand what their mission is. Because I am beginning to think that the board, and possibly the Public Service Commi ssion, do not know what the mission is.
NATIONAL HERO
Mr. Walter H. RobanMr. Speaker, I will move on. We had an interesting discussion this morning concerning the Statement by the Honourable Minister on National Heroes, and also some other answers to [questions on] Statements. It was very puzzling b ecause the lack of answers on some key questions around the process of …
Mr. Speaker, I will move on. We had an interesting discussion this morning concerning the Statement by the Honourable Minister on National Heroes, and also some other answers to [questions on] Statements. It was very puzzling b ecause the lack of answers on some key questions around the process of selection seemed to get the ire of some people as if one was attacking the selection rather than the process. But we have heard some interesting comments today from the Member who sits on the other side. So one has to wonder because, rea lly, Mr. Speaker, a lot of the question did not come from this side of the House; it came from the public before we came back here. The public, once having heard the announcement yesterday, had questions. They had begun to cultivate their own interest in w hat had ha ppened. People were asking, Well, why didn’t we hear about a date? Why didn’t we hear that there was call for nominations ? Was the process followed? Was the criteria followed? Was the guideline followed? And irrespective of what is said about so me things are just guidelines, which is really going on a variant line because it suggests, you know, that one can flippantly follow or not follow. Guidelines are there to be just that. In the absence of nothing, you have guidelines. Guidelines are supposed to be something that you follow, and if you do not follow there is a penalty. It is supposed to give those who are exposed to the making of a certain decision clarity on where they should be going. 2080 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly One of the things I was not able to raise earlier today, Mr. Speaker, is that I also remember in past statements made by Ministers in relation to this sy stem of National Hero es that there were some other details to actually characteristics of which were a part of the guidelines. And some of those characteristic s were this, Mr. Speaker. They were things like dedic ation, things like commitment, things like self -sacrifice, things like conscientiousness and passion, things like being an agent of change for betterment, things like being a risk -taker, things like demonstrating love of the Bermudian people and also demonstrating leader-ship qualities. That was absent, not only from the Statement of this Minister, but also from the Stat ement of 2015, because there was no selection made in 2014, and there was an explanation made why that was. So I wondered why we did not hear those characteristics also mentioned, because we heard about the eight guidelines but, certainly, those are very general. And, as my honourable colleague from constituency 17 said . . . actually, not only constit uency 17, but also the Honourable and Learned Member from constituency 31 said, you know, this is a lif etime achievement. And when you say the word “lif etime,” most people know what that means. That means the total life of an individual. And a s you look at other countries and what they have done with choosing National Heroes, they have chosen people posthumously because they are able to go through a process, and the expertise that they bring to the table to do it, whether it be academic or otherwise. They go through an objective review of the total life of the figure. When you choose som ebody who is a living hero you cannot really do a truly lifetime review and, to some degree (as the Honourable and Learned Member from [constituency] 31 says) y ou put a serious burden on that person’s shoulders to be living the life of a National Hero. And most countries do not choose people who are living, they choose people who in their past have given substantial contributions that have transformed the society and the thinking and behaviour and att itudes of their citizens. And they can objectively review that because the person’s life from birth to death can be truly, clearly evaluated. Now, there was some question as to whether there may have been some changes in guidelines to accommodate. And before anybody goes there, I am not for one moment suggesting that Sir John Swan, at the appropriate time, would not qualify. If anybody goes down that road, Mr. Speaker, there are going to have to deal with me. I know Si r John. He is a deep personal friend of mine and of my family, generatio nally. So do not even go there, or my party either, be-cause Sir John has had relationships in the PLP that go back further than anybody in this House that were close and deep and intim ate. People like Browne Evans and Freddie Wade were intimate friends of Sir John Swan. They would have never castigated him as a person in any way. I know that for a fact. So no one needs to try and cast igate us on this side to believe that we have any il l will for Sir John. He is a Bermudian, first of all. And two, he is a gentleman who has given substantial contributions whether you value it or not, to this country. So the process, and some aspects of this process, has been brought under some scrutiny. W e do hope that there is genuine appreciation for the questions that have been asked, and that a retake of how one goes forward with this is taken. There are questions whether the committee was fully engaged in this process in a way that has been traditiona l to it and the rationale. No one wants to ruin, Mr. Speaker, the value and sacredness of what being a National Hero is su pposed to mean to a country, or to the individual who has been chosen. But I do think that ensuring that at all times, because this i s a small community —this is not a large country like many others who have these systems —that because of the intimate nature of these decisions, public consultation must be guaranteed and ensured in the process. That is essential. And if the process is transparent and clear, to have Ministers come to this House on two consecutive years and not be prepared to reveal who the actual committee is, that brings up some serious questions. It suggests that there might not be . . . there is some embarras sment or fear around the atmosphere of what is being done. We are talking about National Hero es. We are talking about something that is supposed to be able to be appreciated by every citizen. So I will leave it there, Mr. Speaker. I hope that it is taken for the value that it has. The other thing is, Mr. Speaker, . . . How much time do I have?
[Inaudible interjections]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHow long? MOODY’S DOWNGRADE OF BERMUDA
Mr. Walter H. RobanFifty-eight seconds? Mr. Speaker, on the 31 st of March there was a Moody’s report about Bermuda that essentially made some changes to how Moody’s looked at Bermuda’s macro profile and it moved Bermuda’s macro profile. This was recorded in Global Credit Research, “Moody's Investors Service changed the Macro Profile …
Fifty-eight seconds? Mr. Speaker, on the 31 st of March there was a Moody’s report about Bermuda that essentially made some changes to how Moody’s looked at Bermuda’s macro profile and it moved Bermuda’s macro profile. This was recorded in Global Credit Research, “Moody's Investors Service changed the Macro Profile for Berm uda to ‘ Moderate’ from ‘Moderate +’ , to reflect the lowering of its assessment for institutional strength based on the World Bank's World Wide Governance Indicators for rule of law . . .” Now what is the meaning of the “rule of law” in this? The rule of l aw means certain things, Mr.
Bermuda House of Assembly Speaker. And there are three items to the rule of law—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will recognise the Honourable Minister of Public Works, Minister Cannonier. You have the floor. COMMISIONER OF EDUCATION Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I simply wanted to get up and just address some of the questions that were asked by the Ho nourable Member from constituency …
The Chair will recognise the Honourable Minister of Public Works, Minister Cannonier. You have the floor.
COMMISIONER OF EDUCATION
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I simply wanted to get up and just address some of the questions that were asked by the Ho nourable Member from constituency 5 concerning the South Basin. But just before I address those questions, I will say that I share the sentiments of the Education Minister who has many times in the past gotten up and said that he is all about Bermuidianisation and supporting Bermudians in senior roles. And I think that needs to be pointed out as we go through the deli berations this evening, because it almost appears that that is not the case by the Minister. So I want the listening public to be keenly aware that the Minister of Education, or the Honour-able Member, is very much for the expertise of Bermudians being put into place. And I am always reminded that homegrown is always much better. You know, a Bermuda orange comp ared to any other orange . . . other oranges pale in comparison when you eat a Bermuda orange that is homegrown. And when we can find the opportunity . . . I like beets. And I love Bermuda beets compared to beets being imported in. And so I recognise the i mportance of —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: Yeah, the beet story.
[Laughter]
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: I recognise the importance of homegrown. I also want to highlight the fact that education has been paramount and really, as I c ame along it was expected of you to go away and get a formal education at university or college abroad. And so I just want to say thank you to all of our educators who have gone before us, and some who exist and are still alive today, to thank them for the good start we were given. I recall going away when I was actually 14, going 15, and I was sent away to school. And what I had already been educated on, my peers, when I got away, were still well behind that. I think of many of our students who at 16 were going abroad to be in university and the likes. And so it is imperative. You can hear the concern that we continue on with this trend of producing high- quality students. So I hear that from both sides. But again, I will wrap up by saying that it is a sentiment by this Government that we Bermudianise as much as possible, wherever we can. We must recognise the expertise that exists within the Island and when we do not recognise it we must seek it out and call for it. So, again, I am appreciative of the co mments there.
SOUTH BASIN
Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: But just to the questions that were asked by the Honourable Member, concer ning South Basin. I believe that there was some concern about landfill and he raised the question as to . . . he understood that w as not enough landfill, and he also was concerned about it being on time and also being on budget. So to allay the fears that the Honourable Member has, I did speak to him (as he was going out the door, actually) to give him the answers. But I want to rei terate those answers before the House and the listening public. South Basin is a huge, huge success, the claiming of nine acres of land for the temporary use of America’s Cup and then also to look at long- term use of that area. There will be meetings com ing up in the following weeks that will be held at WEDCO, apolit ical, non- political meetings that will allow people to talk about the after -use of these nine acres. And so these things are going on. The beauty of the challenge that we have of not having en ough fill is the fact that the fill that has been put there is so dense, and it is filling so com-pactly that the settlement there is happening much faster than the experts thought it would actually happen. So this is a good thing because anyone knowing landfill [knows] that you may fill it up to a certain level, but a year and two years later, you will then have to come to put more landfill on top of it to ensure that as it settles you are getting a medium level. And so the challenge we have right now is coming up with more fill. The fill has been identified locally. It does not mean that we will go over budget. We have identified it locally. It does mean that local entrepreneurs, truc kers and the likes, will get opportunities to bring this fill to the Sout h Basin, which means more jobs and more economic activity going on for many Bermudians who own their own trucks and the likes. So, again, the budget . . . we will be on budget. As of today, we are 2082 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly still on budget and on time. For a while there we were a bit ahead of time. So the project is coming along quite nicely. The Honourable Member from constituency 5 can rest assured that, yes, we have identified that there was more fill that might be needed. That fill is about 15,000 cubic yards. To put that into t onnage . . . at this moment, I do not have a calculator to do that, but it is about 15,000 cubic yards. And, yes, we will be using some of the rubble from different areas like Vi ctoria Row and the likes. On budget, on time, and we have identified the extra fill that will not put us in a position whereby we are spending millions of dollars over budget for this project to come along. So we know that we only have approximately a little less than a year now to be prepared. It is exci ting. I would say this to t he public. If they have not had the opportunity to go up there and take a look at WEDCO and what is going on, the Village is transforming as we speak. If a day goes by, you go up there and you will see something very different. So this is an exciting time for us. Again, I encourage the public to get up to the West End to take a look at what is going on and watch the landfill —nine acres, actually —taking place and to see all of the entrepr eneurs that are on that project working there. It is a sight to be seen. So with that in mind, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank you for that time in answering the questions from the Honourable Member.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 21, MP Rolfe Commi ssiong. MOODY’S DOWNGRADE OF BERMUDA
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it appears that Moody’s, the rating agency, has sobered up. We may be finding now by way of their latest downgrade, unfortunately for Bermuda, from A1 to now an A2 rating that they no longer would appear to follow the feel -good story centred …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it appears that Moody’s, the rating agency, has sobered up. We may be finding now by way of their latest downgrade, unfortunately for Bermuda, from A1 to now an A2 rating that they no longer would appear to follow the feel -good story centred around things like the America’s Cup, which was always an event but not a sustainable path to ec onomic rejuvenation for Bermuda. So, the Minister of Finance was, of course, flummoxed. He seemed to be bewildered because the same Moody’s only a few months ago had appeared to give a far more positive outlook on the efforts of the Government. Mr. Speaker, we know that the economy remains tepid and anaemic. Maybe the rating agencies are now starting to wake up and take a more jaundiced view of the performance of the Government. That is something that I am happy about, but this is the reality we are facing. I think part of this is coming because of our failure to reimagine what Ber muda is as a parliament, and that failure to reimagine Bermuda probably on the part of some who are more intent about protecting entrenched personal and financial interests, as o pposed to doing what is best for Bermuda’s economy, is inhibiting our ability to restructure Bermuda in a way that will make our economy more dynamic and grow again. On this side of the aisle, our Shadow Finance Minister has consistently talked over the last three or four years about diversifying the economy. We have consistently t alked over the last three years or so about revenue growth being a focus as opposed to the programme of austerity which the Government has embarked upon. I am just trying to be fair here with respect to what they have done. If I may, Mr. Speaker, just to quote here from what Moody’s has assessed in their report. It says here, and I think this is significant, “However, given Bermuda’s more narrow revenue base” and you may remember that if you go back to the regional body of the IMF [ International Monetary Fund] , Mr. Speaker, only going back about a year and a half to two years ago, they also identified that this is one of our deficits, our revenue base is being too narrow, and so Moody’s has come to the conclusion as well that that narrow revenue base is pr oblematic. I am going on and quoting. It also says our “interest burden is significantly higher than that of [our] A1 rating peers, with the interest payments -to-revenue ratio exceeding 12% –the second highest among A - rated sovereigns –compared to a 4.5% [which repr esents the] 'A1' median. ” There are a couple of other interesting items here, Mr. Speaker. Moody’s also again offering the rationale for their downgrade. And I quote from their report, “(1) Despite improved economic prospects, Bermuda's economic strength continues to lag that of A1-rated sovereigns. (2) Bermuda's fiscal strength continues to trail many A1- rated peers due to its high interest burden even as its debt metrics have stabi-lized at a moderate level.” And so as our interest burden contin ues to increase exponentially, the tepid and anaemic growth which they forecast, not just for the next year, but for the next four years of only 1.8 per cent in terms of economic growth, again will inhibit our ability to get on top of the debt and deficit conundrum that we have been facing for the last few years. I just hope that this is not going signal a pivot by which the other rating agencies also begin to sober up. I think it will be bad, bad news for Bermuda if that is case, if this type of assessment now is followed by other rating agencies over the next few months. Mr. Speaker, again, I want to get back to this notion of how we need to again redouble our efforts to diversify the economy. We need to be honest about where we are at. I believe that we are, again, faced with anaemic and tepid growth. I think that is evident. I have been going throughout my constituency, a conBermuda House of Assembly stituency that has a high percentage of people that we will call “working poor.” These are hard- working, honest people who are not earning, in most cases, great levels of income. And for them, this recession has never ended. In fact, in some of these neighbourhoods, they have been in a recession for a long, long time, spanning decades. But, of course, it exacerbated as of 2008 and 20 09. Many of them are still not finding jobs. So, again, let us not be deceived . . . I hate to use that word. Maybe it is not the most appropriate word. Let us not be led astray by the overly rosy narrative that is being pushed by the Government, because t he reality on the ground is not reflective of that for still far too many of Bermudians. Yesterday, again in the Middletown area, I went around there, Mr. Speaker. You know we had a horrific shooting there the other day. We turn to, r egrettably, the cycle of violence that so characterised different periods over the last 15 to 18 years. I met a young man (well, not so young; he is around my age— I like to think I am still young) who is from the neighbourhood. Rolfe, [he told me] I’m leaving. Now, I knew, I i nstinctively knew what he was talking about. So I teased him, Oh, what do you mean? You moving up to Southampton somewhere? [He said,] No, Rolfe, I’m leaving. I’m going to the UK. This man works for Government. As you know, we had a staffer here, same t hing. She worked for Government and she left as well. So, again, these are the realities that do not conform, that belie the overly rosy economic narrative coming from the Gov-ernment. He is picking up and leaving to the UK. As I said some time ago, we hav e exper ienced in Bermuda, for the first time I think in our hi story, growing numbers of what I would call “economic migrants,” many of them heading to that same loc ation, again, the United Kingdom. It is something that bears watching. So, Mr. Speaker, I would implore the Government to take what has happened here to heart. I think the only way we are going to be able to honestly tackle this is to acknowledge that we have some m ajor problems that we are not going to be able to tackle in terms of creating a more sustainable economy unless we tackle some of the entrenched and longstanding features of this economy, the monopolisation or duopolisation of large sectors of this economy b eing one of them, and our failure to do so means, I think, that we are going to continue to be hobbled in our ability to put forth sustainable and stable growth over the long term for Bermudians in a way that will begin to address some of the hardship, the very real hardship, that exists out there around the areas of jobs and employm ent and dynamism within our overall economy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable and Learned Member from constituency 34, MP Kim Wi lson. You have the floor.
Ms. Kim N. Wils onThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to carry on a little bit from where the last speaker ended, and that is with respect to certain things that have been in the new spaper as of late concerning Bermuda’s recent Moody’s downgrade. Now, Mr. Speaker, as an attorney …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I just want to carry on a little bit from where the last speaker ended, and that is with respect to certain things that have been in the new spaper as of late concerning Bermuda’s recent Moody’s downgrade. Now, Mr. Speaker, as an attorney I som etimes try to do a little bit of research before I speak on certain issues. I will be the first to admit that when it comes to natures of math, so to speak . . . there was a reason why I studied law. I was not very good at mat h. However, when I look at Moody’s . . . and I want to break this down for people. I know that our Honourable Shadow Minister of Finance will no doubt do a far superior job than I will insofar as trying to discuss what this Moody’s rating means, but the long and short of it is, Mr. Speaker, that if I go to a bank (for example) and I borrow money, and personal circumstances are such that I am unable to pay [back] that money, then I would get a poor credit. Right? If I have poor credit, then if I want to go back to the bank again perhaps to borrow money for a car or for any other things where I require bank financing, they are going to put me through a series of extra steps to ensure that I can pay them back. They are probably going to charge me more interest , perhaps not give me more favourable terms, and so forth. It is a negotiating process, but at the end of the day, I am going to be challenged with trying to get more money from the bank. Well, similarly, Mr. Speaker, we have (as we have heard in recent d ays received) our Moody’s . . .
[Inaudible interjection]
Ms. Kim N. WilsonRating, yes, thank you. I am reading actually from the Moody’s report, if I may? It speaks to Bermuda and it indicates that there was a rationale for the macro profile change in Bermuda. I quote, “ Moody's lowered its assessment of Bermuda's institutional strength to Very High from Very …
Rating, yes, thank you. I am reading actually from the Moody’s report, if I may? It speaks to Bermuda and it indicates that there was a rationale for the macro profile change in Bermuda. I quote, “ Moody's lowered its assessment of Bermuda's institutional strength to Very High from Very High+, as a result of the lowering of the World Bank's World Wide Governance Indicators for rule of law” and I am going to turn to that in a mom ent. So, Mr. Speaker, if you put the two together, Moody’s has looked at an assessment from the World Bank that has Governance Indicators, and they look at different matters with respect to countries to ascertain their strength in their economy, gross dom estic product, their rule of law, and just other things that will help to effect how a country is rated and ranked with r espect to the World Bank’s worldwide Governance I n2084 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly dicators. And then Moody’s relies on that information as well when they are assessing ratings. Now, Mr. Speaker, of interest to me is the fact that one of the factors that the World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators indicated with respect to Ber-muda in issuing our downgrade (and I am reading straight from their report, Mr. Speaker) is t he “rule of law and government effectiveness, by six and one level.” And when you look at the actual webpage that speaks to our Bermuda ratings, and I am quoting again, it speaks to issues concerning “rule of law.” And when you look at the webpage they sp eak about things like violent crime, organised crime, degrees of observations of human rights violations, you know, a number of things, trust in the judiciary, the regulatory regime, all of those things are matters that are often-times discussed. However, one of the matters that came up with respect to Bermuda is state contract alteration. So this is one of the areas of rule of law that was spo-ken about by the World Bank’s Worldwide Gover nance Indicators when they assessed Bermuda. In that regard the said, quote, “state contract alteration was an area of concern for Bermuda.” And let me define what that is according to the World Bank [Governance] Indicator. It says, “the risk that government or state body alters the terms of, cancels outright, or frustrates , usually through delay contracts it has with private parties without due process.” So when I read that I started thinking, Hmm. What could that mean? And then I remembered how a couple of years ago we sat here in this Honourable House and passed legislat ion that had the effect of voiding a contract that was entered into between the Government of Bermuda and another developer for a 262-year lease with respect to the waterfront property.
[Inaudible interjection]
Ms. Kim N. WilsonAnd that . . . the Corporation of Hamilton. Thank you. And that particular contract that was voided . . . and there is a history behind that and I am not going to get into Jetgate and to . . . and all that information. All that is already …
And that . . . the Corporation of Hamilton. Thank you. And that particular contract that was voided . . . and there is a history behind that and I am not going to get into Jetgate and to . . . and all that information. All that is already out there; that is a matter of public record. But you will recall that a developer, Mr. MacLean, entered into, after bidding on a contract, a 262year lease with the municipality of the Corporation of Hamilton. Subsequent to that, circumstances unfolded and they found themselves . . . well, th e Government, being led by the Minister of Municipalities bringing forward legislation here in the House asking for us to pass legislation that had the effect of making certain commercial contracts retroactive. So we passed —of course, contrary to the opposition that was raised by us on our side— legislation that had the effect of voiding a commercial contract. Therefore, that piece of legislation and the voidance of that contract some two years ago now seem to have crept up and factored into our most recent Moody’s rating. Because again, our rating is based on the lo wering of our institutional strength based on the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicator, which indicated, Mr. Speaker, again, that the issue concerned the rule of law as it relates to Bermuda and particular evidence that shows that risk that a government or state body has altered the terms of a contract. And that is what we saw happen here in the legislation a couple of years ago. So it begs the question, and again I will end where I started. I am an analyst of law, and when I speak to something and I read something that speaks about the rule of law, it piques my interest. When I see that we have passed legislation here that has the ef-fect of voiding commercial contracts and, as was said before when we debated this is, What type of e ffect will that have in Bermuda for other businesses that want to come to Bermuda to do business with us when they know that the Government at any whim has the power, as we saw two years ago, to pass legisl ation to void a commercially entered into contract ? And as I said at the time, a contract is entered into if you have an offer, acceptance, and consider ation and it is between two parties and there is no duress or no undue influence and the like. So we had that s ituation where MacLean entered into a valid contract for the construction of the waterfront property, received a 262- year lease for that and for whatever reason, circumstances that we may never fully understand, the Government decided, We are going to void that. So we are going to pass legisl ation that has the effect of retroactivity —which as legi slators we all know is bad law that sets a bad prec edent where we can pass legislation and say it is going to go back in time. And secondly, they are going to pass legislation that has the effect of voiding a commercial contract. So in addition to no doubt the bad publicity and press that will befall Bermuda, as well as people wishing to do business with Bermuda, because they are always going to think, Well, hang on a minute. The Government can terminate my contract because they have done it before through legislation. But now it appears that by virtue of that particular transaction and the legislation cancelling a commercial contract we now have seen a downgrading i n our Moody’s rating for Bermuda. That is a sad state of affairs. I am hopeful that we will learn from this lesson and recognise that it is a very dangerous precedent that we have set for Government to sit here and cancel commercially negotiated contracts for whatever their reasons may be because it does not sit well with investors and it certainly has not set well with Moody’s. Thank you.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you very much, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Learned Member from constituency 36, MP Michael Scott. You have the floor.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Speaker, thank you. Mr. Speaker, I am going to carry on where the last Honourable and Learned Member left off. These questions of the rule of law are of interest to lawyers, and cer tainly to us as parliamentarians and legisl ators. Mr. Speaker, the rule of law is an important con-cept in any democracy, of course. This must be apparent to any of us as legislators. It underpins one of the three primary aspects of democracy: the Judiciary , and the separation of powers that recognises that we have a strong and effective third pillar in our Judiciary. We have a Legislature. We have an Executive. And that these separated powers are respected and have good gradients in all of its processes and deliberation. So, Mr. Speaker, in that context, just exami ning the question of the rule of law, it is primarily a reference to the authority and influence of the law within a society, particularly as a constraint upon behaviour. That is, the behaviour of myself and all of the Members of this Honourable House, but particularly, or i ncluding, the behaviour of Government officials. So that is the role of the rule of law, and it produces an impor-tant constraint, as the definition indicates. As the Honourable and Learned Member from constituency 34 has just said it is of interest, and ought to be of interest, to all of us that a few months ago, as recently as March, our country had its rating altered on a metric relating not to political stability, or any of the other metrics, inability to have our country stand up and say we are a great innovator or IT juri sdiction, but on the metric of the rule of law. The rule of law, looked at again, implies, Mr. Speaker, that no one is above the law. It is in stark contras t to that concept and to the concept that you have tyranny when you have a country where rulers, the ruling class, believe that they are above the law. The divine right of kings was a time in history where that concept had truck and popularity and it was not a good time. So again, the rule of law pushes against rulers being above the law. Today the Learned Attorney General stood and made his special announcement about a ruling or judgment today from our learned Chief Justice in the same -sex marriage push t hat was made before him as to the whole question of whether a referendum is a proper tool to be used in cases of enforced, or questioning, minority rights. What the Learned Attorney did not say, I mean he took a slant of saying certain things that took place from Chief Justice Kawaley’s ruling, that the call or the application for an injunction to remove the referendum legislation as unconstitutional, he did not uphold that. But there is another principle that he omi t-ted to refer to, Mr. Speaker, and which is that referenda ought not to be used in cases of the rights of the minority or to test the rights of the minority, because then we have the majority reflected in a referendum deciding the rights of a minority. So, referenda, therefore, testing the pol itical appetite and viability of many things, but it must not be used . . .When the Honourable Former Premier Paula A. Cox led the referendum initiative in 2012, having transported it through the House, as recognised in the Chief Justice’s judgment, it was her expressed observation that the referendum as a tool should be used for all sorts of political testing, excluding the minority rights, excluding human rights. So there we have it. But the Chief Justice gave another example, as he properly should have, of saying that we are a domicile that trades upon the reputation that the rule of law is something that must be held intact so that our clientele —international business, local business — feel assured that the rule of law is respected and ob-served. And so, as my colleague, the Honourable and Learned Member, Ms. Wilson, has indicated, the Moody’s metrics assessing us were in three parts. They are major, in my respectful view, or humble submission, major concerning categories: expropri ation, state of contract alteration, and contract e nforcement. And we have had in our country the Municipalities Amendment Act, which reversed a lawfully entered into contract. Mr. Speaker, we no longer live in a bubble. And I defy anybody on the Government Bench to say that Moody ’s have gotten a hold of these doings in Bermuda as a result of the representations of the O pposition. Not so, Mr. Speaker. Not so. These matters were a matter of public record. They were widely published. And chickens will, Mr. Speaker, eventually come home to roost. We have been dealing with these concerning issues as we as legislators must deal with. It was most concerning that the Municipalities Amendment interfered with and reversed the contract of Mr. MacLean and we raised all holy heck in this House about it. We were most concerned about it. And it got published online and in the hard media, and the soft electronic media. So these things reach rating agencies. Then, Mr. Speaker, the other metric, or the items of rule of law, focused on and zeroed in upon by Moody’s, was state contract alteration; the Honour-able and Learned Member, Ms. Wilson, read that for us. Contract enforcement, the risk that the judicial sy stem will not enforce contractual agreements between private sector entities, whether domes tic or foreign, due to inefficiency, corruption bias, or an inability to enforce rulings promptly and firmly, that seems to be a real . . . lays a focus upon our very judiciary, because it is speaking to what the courts’ daily bread- andbutter issues are about. So we must take note. And I am sure that . . . and the Chief Justice just took note 2086 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly of it today by reinforcing the importance of the rule of law. I would like to add yet another metric, which has been not widely debated in this House. And that is the position and metric of sole- sourced contracts, acknowledged in all of our basic metrics of contract, of capital projects in The Green Book of the United Kingdom, in a Letter of Entrustment from the UK, indicating that we should have a—
[Inaudible interj ection s] [Gavel] Hon. Michael J. Scott: We should have a clear line of sight when it comes to funding major capital projects in this country, that there should be a process, a ten-dering process that is credible and transparent. And in the absence of that , it opens the discussion and the debate to the sole- sourced contract being questioned across many of the grounds raised in the third cat egory of Moody’s in March, whether there is domestic or foreign inefficiencies or bias —bias. It certainly raises the is sue of bias. It raises the issue, and the metric refers to corruption or the inability to enforce rulings. And so I add that. These are the daily concerns of the citizenry of this country, Mr. Speaker, which we have high-lighted as concerns of the Opposit ion and which, as I say, we live in a bubble no longer. And the world, i ncluding ratings agencies, will take note of these things and then do what has happened, which is a shot across the bow. Now, the Minister of Finance may take comfort in noting the lev el of the drop, from very good to not as good and [not] very good. But we know that our rating, our ranking slipped from 80 percentile measurements to 50. And so, that suggests to all i nvestor community players that this was significant, and Moody’s are taking it very seriously. And so, I am raising the whole question of the vital importance in our democracy for observing the rule of law and for us to avoid conduct by the ruling class, Mr. Speaker, behaviour by the ruling class which causes us to fall afoul of these urgent and i mportant features in our daily administering and pr ogressing of governance in our country. And it does none of us any good to say that we are being righteously indignant about things over on this side. We have been reinforced in our concerns now by a relationship connected directly to matters that we have discussed in this House, as part of legi slation, concerns raised by this side of the House on the Opposition Benches about the conduct of policy and law in this country, and it is no w being reflected in a line with a downgrading by a ratings agency under the category which goes to the heart of the very pos itions that we were complaining about —the interfering with and cancelling of contracts. It was bound to catch someone’s attention i n a territory, which, as the Learned Chief Justices observed, lives and dies on its reputation for sending out to the world, whom we seek to invite to our shores, that we are a jurisdiction and nation of laws, and that we observe and respect the rule of la w. And so, Mr. Speaker, I stand with my colleague, the Honourable and Learned Member, and anyone who stands —the Honourable Member, Mr. Commissiong, who have stood to draw a line under this development in our ratings. As we seek to do all that the Government has been indicating that it seeks to do, to turn ourselves around in fiscal affairs and in our employment affairs and in our economy. To have this development under the watch of the OBA Go vernment is a poor sign of management. And I am not going to make political hay of it. It is a reality from an independent observer. And I know that the Minister of Finance will take it with the seriousness that it d eserves, and we note that we sought to prevent this kind of rating occurring by standing up, to a man and a woman in this House on the Opposition Benches, and stating that this was not a path down which we ought to travel. Just briefly, Mr. Speaker, with the ability to speak just broadly on motion to adjourn, and I return now to the important ruling that the Learned Attorney General was minded to declare to the House. It is i mportant that we remember, and to be fit that we r emember that referendum should not be used to create votes that undermine a minority. Now, the Chief Justice was careful to observe that this Government’s adopting a referendum was done in the spirit, it notes in the judgment, or trying to protect and enhance hu-man rights. But that is because they wanted to test a political issue in question by the referendum. But what we should remember —and I want to get this on Ha nsard. What we should remember if we ever travel down this road again, do not use the referendum tool to test a right of a minority or a human right. It is in all international law and jurisprudence; it is unconstitutional. And t he applicants took the case to the Learned Chief Justice on that basis. Please d eclare the Act that we passed in this House. And as the Chief Justice observed, with bipartisan support, I b elieve—I believe we all supported this. But I was not alive at the t ime to the fact of this important principle, that you use referenda, as the Honourable and Learned Member and former Premier Paula Cox ind icated, for a test, excluding test against human rights questions. And it is something to bear in mind, because it can expose us to even more mischief and create more difficulties for us than we might have i ntended by going down that path. And so, Mr. Speaker, with those observations, I thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise t he Minister for Home Affairs. Minister Gordon- Pamplin, you have the floor. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every so often in this Honourable House, we are exposed to information that …
Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise t he Minister for Home Affairs. Minister Gordon- Pamplin, you have the floor.
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, every so often in this Honourable House, we are exposed to information that is shared on the floor that is onl y steeped in incredulity. And I believe that the Honourable Member who just took his seat, with the comments that he made r especting the judgment of the Chief Justice today, was absolutely incredulous. Mr. Speaker, you will recall that almost to a person o n that side, when there was the debate concerning the laying of the Civil Union Act, we had a wholesome debate. And almost to a person on that side, they said, Have a referendum! Have you tested the margin of appreciation? Have you done that which the Eur opean Union required you to do to test the margin of appreciation of your people in the ‘ Oliari v. Italy ’ case? We then said, Fine. We will listen and defer to the information that was coming, the recommenda-tions that were made. We chose to have a referendum, and now you are hearing the Honourable Member say, Oh, you cannot use a referendum where the majority may trample on the rights of the minority. That was the exact argument, Mr. Speaker, that was made during the course of that debate!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order? Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes, it is a point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Michael J. Scott: I hope the Honourable Mini ster heard my statement.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThis is the Learned Member from [constituency] 36. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes, thank you. Mr. Speaker, I preface my remarks with where we were across the House. But the point I make, I read from just general jurisprudence. This is a fact.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you, Honourable Member. Hon. Michael J. Scott: This is a House of debate.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, let me just for the record indicate that that is the Honourable Member who said that, notwithstanding the fact that he might hav e supported the principle that was being debated on that date, he was …
Thank you.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And, Mr. Speaker, let me just for the record indicate that that is the Honourable Member who said that, notwithstanding the fact that he might hav e supported the principle that was being debated on that date, he was not going to vote to support a position that would have allowed us to take legislation through the House of Assembly, bearing in mind that the referendum came as a result of knowing that we did not have sufficient votes to be able to pass the legislation through the House, that all of these shenanigans this week would never have been necessary. But the Honourable Member had indicated that, while he supports in principle what was being suggested, he said he was not going to touch it b ecause it was political! Mr. Speaker, to then hear somebody say, Oh, you ought not have a referendum because we cannot have the rights of the majority trampling on the rights of the minority, I think that is as duplicitous as ever I have heard. And I think it is unfortunate. And I think Honourable Member should be very careful when he speaks, because Members on this side do remember the things that are said on the floor of this House, Mr. Speaker. So, I do not want to make any more comments about that because that really is not the intent of my comments this afternoon. I wanted to speak to the issue that was started off by the Honourable Member from constit uency 2 and certainly supported by my honourable colleague, the Honourable Member, the Education Mini ster (I am not sure of the constituency).
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, Okay. I have got the constituencies wrong, but Honourable Member. The Education Minister has always s aid, since he has taken over the Ministry of Education, that he wanted to ensure that the Education Commissioner would be Bermudian. So what we are hearing today and the Opposition to the scuttlebutt that says that there may be somebody foreign who may be given that position has rightfully righteous indignation in this Honourable House, Mr. Speaker, because that has always been the position of the Minister. I do not understand why we get to this stage in our development and, for some reason, because the board is the board, they have the job that they do, they opine on whatever deliberations they have with whatever criteria they set to be the requirements, the prerequisite for the position, and then it goes through the Public Service Commission [PSC] and goes through whatever iterations are necessary before the position is actually offered. Then we find ourselves now in a situation where our Bermudians may be left out in the cold. And, Mr. Speaker, I have been given an aw esome responsibility. And that is Hom e Affairs Minister, where I am responsible for weighing the aspirations of Bermudians against the papers and files that come across my desk, where there is an attempt to justify overlooking Bermudians for significant positions. It is 2088 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly something that I do on a weekly basis. I made mention of it last week, if not the week before, where I said that there are times when a company would apply for a work permit for somebody. When that person, when you look at the r ésumé that was produced by that person when they got the job where a company is now trying to justify maintaining a work -permit holder in a position, that that person, on their r ésumé may have had two of the five criteria that are now being asked for in the application form. You have a new applicant comi ng in, a Bermudian, saying, I have got three of the five. I don’t have the other two. And the employer is now saying, Well, I’m sorry. We need all five. I think that that was inappropriate because the initial, or the incumbent had two of the five [criteria] but learned the other three on the job. So there are times when we have to recog-nise that we may need some foreign expertise. But I do not believe we need foreign expertise to the extent of total exclusion of Bermudians. If there is something that says t hat my Bermudian applicant needs just a little bit of additional help and training and what have you, then I think that that is where we should be going, that is what we should be looking at. And while I respect and understand the Mini ster’s dilemma, because you do not want to be accused of ministerial interference when the rules and regulations specifically preclude you from doing so, so we get caught between a rock and a hard place, you try to do things properly, in propriety, and according to the rules and regulations, and then you get criticised for so doing. I certainly hope that with the outpouring of concern that has been expressed in this Honourable House, before this position to which we are refer-ring has been finalised, that I would certainly hope that both the board and the PSC would take this concern under advisement, because there is the ultimate step when I do not want to have something landing on my desk. And I will not pre- suppose, because I have not looked at the criteria. I have not looked at the qualifications. I have not looked at any of that. It has not reached that stage. But I do hope, Mr. Speaker, it does not. This is an awesome responsibility. And I take that very seriously. You will recall, Mr. Speaker, when we first won the Governm ent, I was put in charge as the Minister responsible for Health. And at that time, under the previous Government, there had been a work permit that had been given, and the terms and conditions were just absolutely, you know, the likes of which I would like to have for a job, for a particular position at the hospital. And the only thing that was left at that point in time was for the Minister to sign off on that contract. And we had the change of Gover nment, so the former Minister under the previous administ ration did not have the opportunity to actually sign the contract. So, it was left to me to have a look at it and to decide whether I was going to sign off on it, or were the terms and conditions so egregious that I wanted to go back to square one? We rec ognised the importance of the position and fulfilling the position and thought that, you know, we cannot throw out the baby with the bathwater. And as a result, we were not going to take the whole contract and say it was of no cons equence. And therefore, I signed it, but not without specifically ensuring that there was a proviso that this is for a maximum of three years, and within three years we insisted that there was a Bermudian who would fulfil that position. So said, Mr. Speaker, so done. Because the person for whom the contract was signed three and a half years ago has recently wrapped up his position and there is now a Bermudian in place. That is the commitment made by this Government that positions which are significant or positions which are not nece ssarily significant. . . but we have an obligation to look at ensuring that we do not frustrate the aspirations of our Bermudians. And if that starts to get built in, then the whole process of this, We have got to look outside for somebody who is better , that starts to go away. It starts to fall away, Mr. Speaker. And so I just wanted to point out that we are very serious about that on this side. And, yes, I do have an awesome responsibility. But I take that very, very seriously, Mr. Speaker. And while y ou want to ensure that you enable businesses to be able to operate effectively within our jurisdiction, there are certain lines over which you do not tread when it comes to thwarting what should rightfully be the domain of the qualified Bermudian. And I am going to stress “ qualified.” Because I do not want anybody to think that I said that, because we are in this position, that every Bermudian who applies for every job will automatically have a work permit holder turned down because a Bermudian applied. I s ay “qualified. ” And I will look at those things very, very car efully. I am sure they have been looked at in the past. But I think that just the fact that this has been hig hlighted gives me another opportunity to know that we will focus very, very carefully . And the information that we get and the recommendations that are made by the technical staff in that department, Mr. Speaker, I found it to be stellar. I found that information, the r equests and the support —I found their information to come to me appropr iately and well researched. And the decisions that they would recommend have been ones that, for the most part, I have been able to agree with. It is because they do their job in that depar tment. And I am appreciative of that level of scrutiny, Mr. Speaker , because it is only under those circumstances that we as a government can continue to en-sure that we have those positions that are meant to be legitimately filled, that can be legitimately filled by Bermudians that we ensure that those are done.
Bermuda House of Assembly NATIONAL HERO
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, I am going to speak to the issue of the National Hero. And I know that there are lots of concerns and challenges and comments that have been made thus far. You will know, Mr. Speaker . . . and let me jus t say that, in r espect of that, let me say that I am appreciative of the level of discourse that we have had on the topic. People have had observations. They have had things with which they do not agree. And I have appreciated the level of discourse. Now, while this is no longer my responsibility, the substantive, the now -Minister, I believe, did a good job in bringing the Statement this morning, and he was very honest with things that he did not know. Because a lot of this process had actually been de-termi ned by the time he took over the Ministry. So, as the Minister who was responsible at that time, I am quite willing to let everybody know exactly what has happened with this. Mr. Speaker, let me just say we have had questions. We had questions last year when the N ational Heroes were announced as to, who is this committee? Well, let me say what I said last year, I do not think it is appropriate to name the Naming and Recognition Committee, for one reason only. Because what we did not want is for people who m ight have put in an application and might think that their candidate, that their nominee, was the crème de la crème and needed to be put above everybody else, I did not want people putting pressure on a member of the Naming and Recognition Committee. That Naming and Recognition Committee is not a legislative committee. It is a committee that was struck to be able to have di scourse with and make recommendations to the Mini ster. So it was not like one of your normal public com-mittees that you would normally have. So, in order to not put them in that position, I can say that not only for last year, but also for this, the Naming and Recognition Committee, there is a la wyer; there is a historian; there is an author and a r eporter; there is the daughter of a PLP S enator; there is a sportsman; there is a realtor, construction boss. We have got . . . It goes across the gamut of the dem ographic that we have in this country to ensure that we have the kinds of input —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: A former Senator, a former. So, we just want to make sure that we were fully represented across the demographics of the community, and that is the committee that had been put in place. Now, Mr. Speaker, as I said, I did not want them to face any i nordinate pressure because we have seen, I have seen as a Minister, people know that I am responsible for this Ministry. I have had people coming to my office and say, You’re the Minister for Financial Assistance. Can you help me to get my file done? You’r e the Minister for this. Can you help me to do that? You know, we have within our pos itions responsibilities to the public when questions are asked. And there are times when we can take a look and see what the situation is, and there are times when it is i nappropriate to be able to have that level of interference. So I think that we want to recognise—
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Ministerial. It is important to recognise that I do not want to put anybody in that kind of spot. And that was the reason. So there was nothing sinister. There was nothing hidden. I have not named the people, but I have given you a flavour for who sits on that commi ttee. And we have relied on their expertise and their input in order to be able to come up with a decision. Now, last year, and based on the guidelines, we had a set period of time within which there was going to be a system in place, and there were dates that were set and the like. There were two National Heroes named last year. We did not intend to name a National Hero this year; hence the process of publicity in the last quarter of the previous year was never kicked into place, because that was the intention. However, we went through the earlier part of this year, and as the Honourable Premier has ind icated, he made a recommendation. And I want to say without fear of contradiction that my Honourable Member from constituency 31 had indicated his concerns that he articulated today. And that was the concerns about somebody who was being giv en this honour and the pressure that it would take for that person to carry that burden of that honour, the highest honour in the land, while still with us. And I take that, and I understand it. One thing that the Honourable Member said was that we must not make decisions that are for political expediency. Well, let me say that when the conversation was had respecting the need or the desire to consider a N ational Hero for this year and the individual was put forward, it was a very compelling recommendation. So, as the Minister, I took that recommendation to the Naming and Recognition Committee. It was not som ething that I wanted to do unilaterally or that the Government wanted to be considered to say that you’ve done something untoward. No, we took it to th e Naming and Recognition Committee and ensured that all of the terms, the conditions, the recommendations, the thoughts, they were all put to that committee. And at the end of those deliberations, they all indicated that they were perfectly content with t he selection. They expressed, some of them, concern that the process had not been followed; that was typically 2090 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the way it had been done. And I accepted that. I accepted that. But as Minister, there are times, Mr. Speaker, that you have to make some kinds of dec isions. We have heard Members opposite today say to the Education Minister, Stand up, make a decision. It might not be the way you normally do things, but make a decision that might be different than what would normally obtain, based on the guidelines that exist. So you cannot tell one Minister on the one hand to make a decision that is expedient because it gives the Opposition the opportunity to criticise what we are doing, and then on the other hand say that another Minister ought not to make a mini sterial dec ision. It was a decision that I made. So if there is any fault in that decision to carry that recommendation through to the Naming and Recognition Committee, I take full responsibility for it as the Minister. And I b elieve I should, Mr. Speaker. And I do not think that the present Minister, who I believe gave a good Stat ement, which was accurate, he gave the information that he was aware of. And he said he did not know who was on the committee. At the time that the Honourable Member took over th at Ministry, there was no work for that commi ttee to do. So he probably had no need to find out [about them], with all the things that have happened— and bear in mind that these changes in Cabinet have just happened over the last four weeks, Mr. Speaker. I think it is probably just about four weeks. So in four weeks, it is not reasonable to expect that every Mini ster knows everything about everything that is happe ning within their Ministry. And certainly, I do not. And certainly, I would not stand here and a llow the Minister to be grilled over something that I know that he did not have intimate responsibility for. I did. So if there is any criticism, send the barbs my way. I am a big girl; I can take that. And, Mr. Speaker, if in making that decision that I would take this recommendation, this very compelling recommendation, to the Naming and Recognition Commi ttee, if that is something that Members think that they would like to ensure that it is done differently on a prospective basis, I am willing to accept that. I am wil ling to accept it , because sometimes, in your exuberance, Mr. Speaker, to ensure that things go well, you may have made what might be an obvious misstep because sometimes maybe I could not see the forest for the trees. But if that is the case and we end up with a National Hero of the calibre of Sir John W. D. Swan, John William David Swan, Mr. Speaker, then I will live with it. I will live with it. And all I can say is that I will ask Members in this Honourable House for forgiveness. If the policies and procedures that I implemented do not sit well with them, we have committed that, going forward, we will look at how things are done. And if we want to ensure that there is a square box that completely takes away any ministerial discretion, then those are the rules I guess we will have to put in place. And there may be something that says, Every year we must have som ebody, even though the guidelines say we do not have to. And there may be something that says that “X” number —
[Timer beeps] The S peaker: Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Member. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Have I had 20 minutes? My goodness! Thank you. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Chair will now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 18. MP David Burt, the acting Opposition Leader. REFUSAL TO ANSWER PARLIAMENTARY QUE STIONS
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot this evening and we have been here a lot longer than I expected us to be, to be completely honest. I thought we were going to get out earlier than we did last week. But that is …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot this evening and we have been here a lot longer than I expected us to be, to be completely honest. I thought we were going to get out earlier than we did last week. But that is clearly not the case. But we heard a little bit earlier, and I just cannot help but focus on the Minister of Education and how he spoke about the need to work together. There is one fundamental premise that is needed to have the ability to work together, and that is good faith. And we have heard a lot today about words such as “ the rule of law ” and I guess “ following the rules. ” So one would think that if we are trying to go down the road of wor king together, then you have to be able to trust the people of whom you are working with. But if those same people are a Government that is unable, it seems, to follow the rules, unable to follow the law, unable to follow the procedure, then one must ask, Why would the Honourable Minister for Education say that we should work together when his very own Deputy Premier will refuse a summons i ssued by a bipartisan committee of Parliament and claim executive privilege? But we want to work together ? Maybe instead of attempting to lecture the Members on this side, the Minister would have more emphasis trying to at least get his entire Cabinet on the same page first, before he starts talking about over on this side, Mr. Speaker. I think that is just the very basis of it. Because if we have seen what has gone on over the past few weeks and few months, it has been anything other than wanting to get us on the same page insofar as moving forward. We have just seen the refusal of disclosure. We
Bermuda House of Assembly have seen the r efusal to answer Parliamentary Question, just flat -out refusal, Mr. Speaker. Where is the level of oversight when an executive just fields out? It’s okay. I’m not going to answer the question. That is insane. Our Standing O rders state that we can ask ques tions that are inside of the official knowledge of a Minister. Mr. Speaker, a Minister cannot refuse to answer the question if he knows the answer. If it is a matter of fact, then he must produce the answer, Mr. Speaker. And it is once again on a second we ek running, it seems as though the Minister of Finance holds his Parliament in con-tempt. And in that statement, he holds the people and the voters of this country in contempt, because he does not believe that the questions asked by their representatives deserve an answer. That is a challenge which we have, Mr. Speaker. But when we have the situation where questions are refused to be answered, then we have the Honourable Minister for Sports giving incorrect answers to Parliamentary Questions. Earlier today, we heard him talking about, Well, with Mary Prince, there were no nominations with that, but the Cabinet just decided. But the Honourable Member from constit uency 6 read from the former Minister —
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, sir. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Honourable Member is misleading the House. Mr. Speaker, I was working with the information I was given. I can speak to it later on.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. You could say y ou spoke as you knew. So, right, exactly. Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, I did. Yes, yes.
Mr. E. David BurtThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So what the Honourable Minister just admitted is that he misled the House. Thank you for that point of order, and thank you for making it very clear — spoke from the information he was given! But we know where that information came from, …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. So what the Honourable Minister just admitted is that he misled the House. Thank you for that point of order, and thank you for making it very clear — spoke from the information he was given! But we know where that information came from, because we all saw the Honourable Premier sitting next to him, whispering, telling him exactly what to say. We know that is what was going on, the Premier trying to d efend his nomination, trying to— Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Point of clarification,
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Take your seat, Honourable Member. NATIONAL HERO
Mr. E. David BurtMr. Speaker, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, we all saw where it came from, so the incorrect information that was provided to this House was not correct. And that much is seen. But we have seen the . . . we know the Honourable Minister makes incorrect statements all …
Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, we all saw where it came from, so the incorrect information that was provided to this House was not correct. And that much is seen. But we have seen the . . . we know the Honourable Minister makes incorrect statements all the time. We have seen the apologies that have had to come from him. So we understand that he has a propensity to take what other people give him and say it, and then say, Oh. I’m just working from the information I was given. Well, the information of which he was given, Mr. Speaker, was wrong. The information that was given to him was wrong. But what is more is, Mr. Speaker, his defence earlier today of the inability of his own department to follow their very own rules that are on their own website, and he just referred to them as, Oh, they are mere guidelines. Then why are they there? But that just speaks to the issue, again, of the One Bermuda Alliance. It is kind of like the guidelines, the rules, the laws, Financial Instructions, the Good Governance Act, they do not apply to them. Standing Orders, a nswering questions, they do not apply to them. It is like this Executive has absolutely no measure of the r esponsibility of which it has to hold in government! Be accountable. Respond to questions. That is how we get better governance in a country. You get better governance when you have a strong Opposition which asks questions of the Go vernment and the Government responds so there is proper scrutiny in a functioning democracy! A democracy cannot function, Mr. Speaker, when official mat-ters refuse to be disclosed. And, Mr. Speaker, I would posit that it is bringing discredit upon this House that this is allowed to continue from the Executive, Mr. Speaker. This is not right, and it is not correct. But to go back to what we heard earlier, the whole issue of this selection process, and the Honourable Member from constituency 5, I think, made it very clear. We have no quarrel with John Swan. That is not what the quarrel is about. The fact is that when a Minister can get up and say, If the process wasn’t 2092 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly followed, then I take responsibilit y for it, well, that is fine. But why are you taking responsibility for not following the process? Why do you not just follow it in the first place? When we hear —
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Honourable Member. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member is ignoring the fact that I made a specific reference to say that there was no intention of naming a National Hero this year, having named two last year. And therefore, the timelines that …
Yes, Honourable Member.
POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member is ignoring the fact that I made a specific reference to say that there was no intention of naming a National Hero this year, having named two last year. And therefore, the timelines that are i ncluded as part of the guidelines would not have been applicable.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. [Inaudible interjections ]
Mr. E. David BurtSo, there was no intention. There was no intention. But the Leader of the Government, the Leader of the country, makes a recommendation to his own Cabinet and they approve it. But there was no intention. So no public consultation, no— Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, yes, Minister. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Leader did not make a recommendation to his Cabi-net. The Honourable Member, as I said in my presentation, had the conversation with me as the Minister. I then took the information to the Naming and Recogn ition …
Yes, yes, Minister.
POINT OF ORDER Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Leader did not make a recommendation to his Cabi-net. The Honourable Member, as I said in my presentation, had the conversation with me as the Minister. I then took the information to the Naming and Recogn ition Committee. And then once the Naming and Recognition Committee agreed with the individual, then it was taken to Cabinet. The Premier did not directly go to Cabinet.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Thank yo u. Thank you.
Mr. E. David BurtOkay. So, there was no nomination? The Premier had a conversation with the Mini ster responsible? The story just gets crazier as it goes on. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to spend much more time on that, because I think the people of this country can see a Cabinet …
Okay. So, there was no nomination? The Premier had a conversation with the Mini ster responsible? The story just gets crazier as it goes on. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to spend much more time on that, because I think the people of this country can see a Cabinet in complete disarray, trying to cover up their tracks for just the inability to follow simple procedure —simple procedure.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive ] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member is imputing improper motive. There is nobody trying to cover up any tracks. If that is the way they operated, that is not the way we operate.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. T hank you. Thank you, Honourable Member.
Mr. E. David BurtFirst we heard earlier it was a nomination. Yesterday we heard it was a nomination. Today we hear it was a conversation. I mean, what is this? Notwithstanding, Mr. Speaker, we understand that this has caused trouble, and we also understand that in the whole recommendation process, which took place …
First we heard earlier it was a nomination. Yesterday we heard it was a nomination. Today we hear it was a conversation. I mean, what is this? Notwithstanding, Mr. Speaker, we understand that this has caused trouble, and we also understand that in the whole recommendation process, which took place between the Premier and the former Minister, that it was already decided that these awards would only be given posthumously! So all of a sudden, the criteria had to change. I mean, it is just so . . . the word that you used before, incredulous, Minister, that this goes on and the Government just sits there as though everything is okay. I will at least give the Honourable Minister who just took her seat some credit for attempting to accept some measure of responsibility, for attempting to do so. But what will we hear from the Honourable Premier of the country, who yesterday gave his speech and his announcement and said, I was the only one who made the recommendation, and that is it? But what are we going to hear about him insofar as, Oh, we should have followed the process. Oh, it could have been done better. Oh, it wasn’t done correctly . It is a shame that the award is tainted by the process not being follo wed, Mr. Speaker. And I think the Honourable Member from constituency 6 made that very, very clear. But then, Mr. Speaker, I move on because I think that it is very important that the Government heed the advice from the Member for constituency 31 that say s, Be careful what you do in the name of political expediency. Now, political expediency —
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Minister. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member is misleading the House. There was nothing done in the name of political expediency. I made that comment in my presentation!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. He is just repeating, he is repeating what the other Honourable Member said. He said exactly what the Honourable Member said, Minister. MOODY’S DOWNGRADE OF BERMUDA
Mr. E. David BurtThank you, Mr. Speaker. I will go on. Because when we talk about the issue of political expediency, I think that a good example of political expediency could be what took place last week Friday maybe, or last week Sunday, when the Minister of Finance, in responding to a Moody’s …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will go on. Because when we talk about the issue of political expediency, I think that a good example of political expediency could be what took place last week Friday maybe, or last week Sunday, when the Minister of Finance, in responding to a Moody’s downgrade, gave the following reaction, and I quote from his statement. He said, “in February of this year, Moody’s published a glowing report on Bermuda titled, ‘Bermuda’s Fiscal Consolidation Efforts Bear Fruit, a Credit Positive.’ It would therefore seem inconsistent that Bermuda should be downgraded by Moody’s now” (end quote). Now, Mr. Speaker, this is the third time that Moody’s has downgraded this Minister of Finance, third. And so, it is the lowest rating that Bermuda has ever had. And the reminders and the words from those statements are the same as the ones before, the same which we have always heard, talking about the need to diversify the economy, something of which we have been speaking about on numerous occ asions on this side of the House. And, as I said, it comes from so many different places. But yet, the Minister of Finance steadfastly talks about diversific ation as an investment str ategy, not an economic strategy, when meanwhile, his economic strategy, or i nvestment strategy is leading us to get downgraded repeatedly. But what is worse, Mr. Speaker, is that insofar as his response, this is where the political expediency comes in. He ignored what Moody’s said in March. So Moody’s put out a report in February. We get a Mini sterial Statement about that. Moody’s puts out a report in March that is not positive. We hear nothing about that. Moody’s puts out a downgrade; we get a press state ment that is sent on a Sunday, but no report to this House. Rest assured, Mr. Speaker, if it was affirmed or if it was upgraded, there would have been a Ministerial Statement. And we all would have heard the stomping of the feet from the One Bermuda All iance Government. But when the news is bad, they do not want to say anything. When the news is not what is inside of their economic narrative of a turnaround in the eco nomy, when we still have persons unable to find jobs and leaving the country, when it does not match with what they say. . . (You okay, Premier?). When it does not match with what they say, it is ignored. Here is what Moody’s said in March. Moody’s said (and I quote, Mr. Speaker), “ Moody's lowered its assessment of Bermuda's institutional strength to Very High from Very High+, as a result of the lowering of the World Bank's World Wide Governance Indicators for rule of law and government effectiveness, by six and one level, respectively, in accordance with its bank rating methodology. The change in profile reflects the weaker assessment of this key macro strength of Bermuda, as well as its low score for economic strength relative to bo th Moderate+ and Moderate peers” (end quote). Mr. Speaker, again, rule of law. Now, Mr. Speaker, when your asses sment by the World Bank in rule of law goes from 85.8 percentile in all of the countries in the world down to 58.7 percentile, you have to ask yourself, why did this ha ppen? Why is this the case, Mr. Speaker? And you know what is interesting, Mr. Speaker? What is interesting is when we look into what those metrics speak about, one of the things that they speak about is state contract alteration. And reading from the data source, it says, and I quote, “The risk that a government or state body alters the term s of, cancels outright, or frustrates (usually through delay) contracts it has with private parties without due process” (end quote). That sounds a lot like what this One Bermuda Alliance Government did with the Waterfront project, Mr. Speaker. And now it seems, and an argument could be made, that the chickens have now come home to roost. Because while the Minister of Finance claims about the glowing report written by Moody’s, the World Bank has downgraded our assessment on the rule of law. And their downgrading of the asses sment of the rule of law could be traced back to the very actions of this Cabinet in violating a contract, which is still before the courts, insofar as it is in litigation and could cost us an entire, a whole lot of money. Mr. Speaker, could you tell me how much time I have left, please?
[No audible reply]
Mr. E. David BurtThank you, Mr. Speaker. Now, Mr. Speaker, when our economy suffers because of the careless actions of the Government, because it seems as though people are now ca tching on to the fact that maybe the Government is not (how do you say?) . . . maybe private investors should …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Now, Mr. Speaker, when our economy suffers because of the careless actions of the Government, because it seems as though people are now ca tching on to the fact that maybe the Government is not (how do you say?) . . . maybe private investors should not have the confidence which they should have in getting into business with the Government because the Go vernment cannot be trusted to enforce the contracts that exist, I think that that is something that is very, very dangerous. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to speak on som ething, because I think it is very important. The reason why we are putting so much pressure and looking to have oversight on the airport contract is that when we get into government, the last thing that we want to do 2094 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly is attempt to unwind a contract that is already signed! And that is why you should have oversight, and that is why you should have the information, because the people of this country should know what they are getting into before they get into it, Mr. Speaker. Because we do not want to find ourselves in the position of being in a contract that we cannot get out of, because if we void the contract like the One Bermuda All iance voided the Waterfront contract, then we get another downgrade. That, Mr. Speaker, is the reality. That, Mr. Speaker, is where we are. That, Mr. Speaker, is what we could almost call, as was said, political expediency. It is politically expedient to i gnore the facts that are staring you in the face, especially, Mr. Speaker, especially when our own data show that we have fallen from the 85 th percentile to the 58th percentile when it comes to the rule of law, as a country. That should alarm the Government. That should alarm private investors. That should alarm everybody that we do not believe . . . or that the World Bank has downgraded our assessment on what they believe we have insofar as the rule of law, Mr. Speaker. As the Minister of Finance says, We make our reputation on being a jurisdiction that cannot be questioned on such matters. And the Minister of Finance must answer for his Government’s insistence on ca ncelling that contract, and now he must defend what has happened as a possible repercussion of that cancellation of the Waterfront contract. Mr. Speaker, I say that the downgrade should not come as a surprise to the Minister of Finance, because the writing was on the wall from Moody’s in March. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister of Finance. Minister E. T. Richards, you have the floor. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too was interested in this Moody’s report of March 31 st. Quite frankly, I did not know …
Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Minister of Finance. Minister E. T. Richards, you have the floor.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I too was interested in this Moody’s report of March 31 st. Quite frankly, I did not know about it until the Honourable Member asked a question about it, a Parliamentary Question. But the Honourable Member has only read out part of the r eport, not all the report, that relates to this matter. The first thing I want to stress, though, Mr. Speaker, is that this report is not a credit rating. That is the first thing. It is not a credit rating. It is a research report and does not really impact on the credit rating; it is done by a whole different department of Mood y’s. But, so let me . . . and different analysts, everything. But the Honourable Member read this sentence out. I am going to read it again: The institutional strength went from Very High+ to Very High as a result of the lowering of World Bank’s World Wide Governance indicators for the rule of law, and government effectiveness by six and one level, respectively. The next paragraph, though, says, Mr. Speaker, “ Bermuda's institutions nevertheless continue to score highly compared with other rated sovereigns according to the World Bank survey. Strong scores for government effectiveness and rule of law reflect the government's strong willingness to respect contracts and repay debt, as well as its capacity to promote economic policies that support growth. ” So, Mr. Speaker, one wonders how they could have the first paragraph then followed by that second par agraph, because it seems like doublespeak. And it is doublespeak. That is right! It is doublespeak. The Honourable Member has made so much emphasis on this, b ut I can tell you, this report is doublespeak. Because when I also, like the Honourable Member, went to the World Bank website to check this rule of law thing out, as the Honourable Member did, or else he would not have been able to get those percentiles, the thing that he failed to mention was that the latest data that the World Bank has on the rule of law are 2014. Now, you tell me what happened b etween February 2016 when we got the favourable r eport from Moody’s and March the same year when we got this r eport? The fact is, nothing happened. So, when I got up in front of the Bermudian people and I sort of said, Well, you know, I really can’t explain this, this report is doublespeak. And let me emphasise some more things. When the analyst of Moody’s came t o us and we had our annual meeting about the sovereign rating of Bermuda, we discussed a number of things. And this matter never came up. It did not even come up. They did not even mention it. And, Mr. Speaker, in the r eport that they gave where Bermuda was downgraded, there was no mention of this either. What they did mention, Mr. Speaker, was the fact that Bermuda’s debt level is too high and our debt service drains the ability of government to do other things that gover nments should do. Now, where did t hat come from, Mr. Speaker, all of this debt and this debt service? Mr. Speaker, this debt situation was inherited by this Government. You know, Mr. Speaker, the issues that we are having with the credit rating agencies, and I know there is one attorney ov er here; I think all of the other attorneys have decamped. Bu t this is going to be a kind of schoolboy version of this rule in law, as I have heard lawyers say it. But the issues we are having with the credit rating agencies reminds me of the principle in law which talks about poisoned fruit from a poisoned tree. They say if the tree is poisoned, whatever fruit comes from that tree is going to be poison. And, Mr. Speaker, the debt level and the debt service that this Government has, the downgrades because of it, are the fruit, the poisoned fruit. And this poisoned fruit is from the poisoned tree that was planted by the Pr oB ermuda House of Assembly gressive Labour Party Government when they were in power!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongI think the Member is mi sleading the House. Moody’s has made an assessment based on its own projections of the OBA Government since 2012!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Member. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: If the Honourable Member can really say that when his Government took over in 1998, you know, there was a debt problem that they inherited from that former government, then, you know, his point is valid. But …
All right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Member. Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: If the Honourable Member can really say that when his Government took over in 1998, you know, there was a debt problem that they inherited from that former government, then, you know, his point is valid. But we all know that is not true. We all know that the debt went up hundreds of per cent under the PLP Government. So, what we have here, Mr. Speaker, is really the poisoned fruit from the poisoned tree. And so, that is the situation. Our Government was downgraded by Moody’s because of the percentage of debt service relating to the revenue of the government. And it said so quite plainly that that is the reason. Now, you might ask, Well, how is that different from last year? How is that different from January? And the answer is, it is not. It is not different. So what new has happened since we got this really nice report in February and we got the doublespeak in March — what has happened since that time? And, Mr. Speaker, for the life of me, I do not know. Because as far as I can tell, nothing has happened other than the prospects of Bermuda have actually gotten better. So you just kind of wonder what is happening with Moody’s because they seem to be kind of all over the place here. A week or so before we talked to Moody’s, Mr. Speaker, w e had the meeting with Standard & Poor’s, the other rating agency. One of the conditions of most of our government debt requires us to have two ratings from two different credit rating agencies. So we have S&P and Moody’s. We had a meeting with S&P that was very, very much like the meeting we had with Moody’s. There was very little, if any, negative com-mentary or anything new. And S&P continued the rat-ing that we had before. And we had this downgrade from Moody’s, which is out of the blue. And the reason that they have given are reasons that have been there for some time, Mr. Speaker. You will recall during the former administr ation, the ratio of debt service to revenue was not even mentioned by the former Minister. The only thing that she talked about was that our debt -to-GDP was low compared to other countries. And that is what the Bermudian people thought, that our debt was low compared to other countries, it was moderate, you know. It was in the 25, 30- something per cent. We knew of other islands where there was 90 per cent. Japan is over 200 per cent. So, you know, she convinced the Bermudian people that this is okay. But I was the lone voice in the wilderness over there at that time saying it is not okay. And then when we became the Government, it was this Government that pointed out that there were other ratios that showed that our situation was dangerous and that we needed to put in rules and policies to get our debt service, interest and principal, within manageable levels. And we have put in a policy to do that. And, Mr. Speaker, if you look at the growth of the Bermuda debt since we have become the Government, it has slowed down tremendously. And we now have a plan to eliminate the deficit. And at that point, we will stop increasing the debt. So, M r. Speaker, all the rating agencies, both the rating agencies seemed to be very impressed with our plan to do that. Moody’s were impressed with it. But yet, we have this . . . You know, I stand here in front of you, Mr. Speaker, and the listening audience, to say that this downgrade makes no sense. And the fact is that we have got this report that the Honourable Member is emphasising and crowing about . . . that report makes no sense either. It is total doublespeak what is in this report. Now, I too am int erested in why the World Bank rule of law metric for Bermuda fell. But the reasons that I have heard given by the Opposition seem to be all speculation. I mean, they have kind of r everse engineered their argument. They have seen that this thing fell with the World Bank, and they have put in their own reasons. I do not know what the World Bank’s reasons are. But I do know that, in the same report that Moody’s mentions it, they still say that we have strong scores in effectiveness and rule of law, “strong wil lingness to respect contracts and repay debt, as well as its capacity to promote economic pol icies that support growth.” How can you have those two things in consecutive paragraphs —consecutive paragraphs ? So I do not put much confidence in this report, Mr. Speaker. It is like somebody wrote the first part, and somebody else wrote the second part. These r eports are meant for investment people, are meant for investors. If I was an investor and I read this, you know, I would be thoroughly confused. So, I am going to try to get to the bottom of what the World Bank did. I have not got to the bottom of it yet, but I am going to try to get to the bottom of it, as opposed to speculating why they did it, which is what I heard to date. They are speculating about all kinds of reasons. But not unless the Honourable Members over there can tell me that they phoned up 2096 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the World Bank and the World Bank told them that — because I do not see any explanation of this from the World Bank. But I would like to know. But that is the sort of situation that we are in. So, with those words, Mr. Speaker, and explanation, I will take my seat.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Premier. The Chair will now recognise the Premier. INFLUENCE OF TRUMP POLITICS Hon. Michae l H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good evening to everyone who is still here and people who listen on the radio. Mr. Speaker, as we bring this …
All right. Thank you. Thank you, Deputy Premier. The Chair will now recognise the Premier.
INFLUENCE OF TRUMP POLITICS
Hon. Michae l H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good evening to everyone who is still here and people who listen on the radio. Mr. Speaker, as we bring this day to a close there are a couple of things I want to say. And my, oh, my, I think American politics is starting to have too much of an influence on Bermuda politics, because as I listened to Honourable Members on that side, Hon-ourable Members from constituency 18 and some others, I thought, My, Trump politics is starting to catch on in Bermuda. And why did I say that, Mr. Speaker? Because the brand of Trump politics, in my humble opinion, Mr. Speaker, is to vaguely insult pe ople, to castigate people, to tear people down, to spin, to twist and to prevaricate on occasion. And as I listened tonight, I certainl y saw all of that. I find it quite interesting, Mr. Speaker, because the Honourable Member who speaks for Finance on that sat in the Senate with me when he was the Junior Minister of Finance . . . and I recall very clearly in the Budget Debate the Honourable Member defending the debt that was rising at alarming levels. And now, the Honourable Member has moved to another side of the House, and the memory bank has gone clean. It is just erased. It is like you go to the computer that he is so fond of with the technology and he pushed delete. But, Mr. Speaker, in the real world, you cannot push delete. Because Hillary Clinton found that out.
[Laughter]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: You cannot push delete. And the Honourable Member has never made a mi stake in his li fe. And so I am going to stand here tonight to defend my honourable colleague, Minister Sylvan Richards, because he is a man of honour. If he says something and he finds out that he needs to correct it, he will correct it. And that is a man of honour and i ntegrity, which is important. We need more people like that in these Chambers and in the world. And Minister [Sylvan] Richards has done a good job of assimilating himself to a very important portfolio. And he has done a good job of getting involved in the work in this House. And I am not for a minute about to stand here and let anyone on that side say things about Members on this side that are not correct. If the shoe fits, you wear it. But in this case it does not. Because we all from time to time make mis takes or misspeak on something. But very few will come back and own up to it and correct it. The Honourable Member on the other side, in another place talked about privatisation. And now he runs from privatisation. The other Member talked about . . . I re call the verbiage from the Opposition was, the Cuts and Pain Commission. And then all of a sudden, in a recent Budget Reply, we hear convers ation about, Well, maybe we should follow some of the SAGE recommendations. I mean, you know, that is doublespeak. T hat is flip -flopping around. That is d oing the best you can to try to appeal to people who might be listening on the radio any way you can. But in the real world, people do not forget.
MOODY’S DOWNGRADE OF BERMUDA
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Now, Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of conversation tonight about a couple of issues. And I think my colleagues have dealt with the Moody’s report very well. The only thing I will say to that is rating agencies are a brand to their own. And I am not saying that in a disrespectful way in any way. I say that in reality, because sometimes you can un-derstand why they come up with the commentary and the rating they do; and at other times you really ca nnot. I mean, how can you have Standard & Poor’s say one thing a month or two months ago, and Moody’s come and say something slightly different? But underneath they are still saying that we are going in the right direction. However, I think people realise that we have had a real challenge on our hands with the state of the finances in Bermuda, and we are making progress to it. And we will continue to move forward. In spite of the spin that the Opposition will try to put in there, the Trump style of politics, it is not going to work.
[Inaudible interjection]
COMMISSIONER OF EDU CATION
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: So, I hear the Honourable Member over there tweeting away. He had his chance to speak, and I did not interrupt any single one of those Members because I respect them and listen, even though I disagree with what they are try ing to do. Let me deal with a couple of other issues. The Education Commissioner. I find it quite interesting that Members on the Opposition Benches, who are quite familiar with the Education Commissioner, the pos ition, the responsibilities, the oversight , the direction that it is giving, now can come up and stand here and talk about, Well, we want a Bermudian. All 36 of us in the House want a Bermudian. I do not need to even question the need for that. We all will stand and say
Bermuda House of Assembly that we want a Bermudian. B ut is it not interesting when the shoe was on the other foot, that they did not have the passion and the vigour to argue at this point? And what I found very interesting, at this point there is no announcement that has been made. And we are all debating this issue about the next Educ ation Commissioner. There is no announcement that has been made. I have not heard a word from the Board of Education, and the Minister spoke quite el oquently tonight on where we are. And so, you know, if the horse is not out of the stall, then I think it is a little bit early to start running around the fields chasing something. You do not know what you are trying to catch, Mr. Speaker. We all support a Bermudian in the position, a qualified Bermudian in the position. And I supported the programme before where the three people just below, the three doctors, all had an opportunity to act. And I followed it very closely, feedback from the Minister and from the PS. And certainly, I was not aware of challenges when they act. As far as Dr. Evans, I think he acted the longest p eriod of time. And the reports seem to be pretty good about the work that was done. So we all wait for recommendations to be made, and then the PSC will make their recommendation. And it will be dealt with, going forward. So Members on the other side should not get too excited about these things until the process moves through. But I do appreciate their new -found enthus iasm for Bermudianisation, because we are all in that same boat.
Mr. Walter H. RobanPoint o f order, Mr. Speaker. The Honourable Member is misleading the House. It is under the . . . I am sorry.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. Walter H. RobanIt is under the Progressive Labour Party, actually, that a Bermudian was appoi nted the Commissioner for Education.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thank you. Thank you, Honourable Member.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOnly one point of order on that. Sit down. Carry on, Premier. NATIONAL HERO Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I am glad to see they are still awake. In regards to the National Heroes, a couple of things I would like to say. The guidelines state that an award can be …
Only one point of order on that. Sit down. Carry on, Premier.
NATIONAL HERO
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: I am glad to see they are still awake. In regards to the National Heroes, a couple of things I would like to say. The guidelines state that an award can be bestowed on somebody whether they are living or have passed on. It is very clear. Up to this point, it has not been done. And I am sure that around every Cabinet table and in every year since the awards were started in 2008, there was probably that discussion. And I just wanted to clear that up, b ecause my honourable colleague, MP Crockwell, seemed to believe that that was not the case. But it is. It can be awarded on both sides. And I think Sir John Swan, at his age in life, his record is cast in stone. I do not think he is going to take an about -turn and do something that could bring that award into a paler light. A couple of other points in regard to that. Any member of the public, including members of the civil service and the Naming and Recognition Committee, can nominate an individual, or groups can be nom inated, as National Heroes. People should understand that. The committee keeps all the nominations conf idential, Mr. Speaker, for two reasons: to respect the privacy of the nominators, and to potentially avoid any disappointment if nominations are not moved forward. Now, t here have been some comments about decisions on National Heroes being political. Now, Mr. Speaker, while I appreciate that people might think that is an interesting discussion, the guidelines say that the final decision is made by Cabinet. Well, if it is not going to have a touch of politics in it, then I must have missed something here, because the Cabinet is all of the Government Members. And if you look at the names, if I went out in the street and I said, Do you think that Dame Lois Browne- Evans had a l ittle bit of a political touch in the nomination? , I am sure people would say yes. E. T. Richards, it would be yes. Same would be, say, for Dr. Pauulu Kamarakafego— yes. And I am not saying that that is wrong. But what I am saying is that it is real. And of course, in any nomination that is accepted by Cabinet, there is going to be a touch of many things in it. And politics can be one of those, because, after all, we are all elected as politicians. Cannot change that. So let us get over this political thing about it, because you are going to get a bit of that. And you know what? In all those eight heroes, I do not have a problem with any of them. I do not think people have a problem with those heroes, because whether you like the politics of what they came f rom and what they did, they still have significant contributions. And let us face it: Every National Hero is g oing to have some detractors. But all of those heroes have been accepted and appreciated and recognised in an appropriate way. So let us forget a bout this political thing. Because somebody like Sir John Swan has gone through over four decades of service. Whether it is business, politics, community, phila nthropy, he continues to give. And I think it is the most fitting and appropriate nomination. An d I am pleased 2098 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly to see that the committee and the Cabinet have accepted that, moving forward.
ST. GEORGE’S HOTEL
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Now, Mr. Speaker, a couple of other items that I wanted to touch briefly on here tonight. Last night there was an inf ormation session held in St. George's on the new hotel. I want to congratulate the Junior Minister, MP Bascome, and the Minister who sits in another place and the two i ndividuals from Desarrollos Hotelco Group who were down there for the presentation. I wa nt to congratulate them for two things. One is getting out there and showing concepts of what they propose. I thought the format was great, and that is the second thing I want to congratulate them on. To have boards around the room where people can go act ually look at various aspects of what is proposed, what concepts are proposed, and have an opportunity to talk one- on-one at the board with what is in front of them, I think it was a great idea. It was a good public meeting, with good turnout. And I applaud Desarrollos for getting out in the community, bringing the message to them. They have made a significant contribution and commitment to Bermuda, and we intend to move forward. I am glad that the people have come out and asked questions. That is a positiv e start. We will do everything we can for the East End of the Island to make sure that they have the opport unity and they have the empowerment and the jobs go to the East End, as well. Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd you are wearing blue and blue t oday, s o that must be true. [Laughter] Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, I did not want to digress. I did not want to digress. But they are better than the shoes that Minister Pat Gordon - Pamplin has on. They …
And you are wearing blue and blue t oday, s o that must be true. [Laughter] Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, I did not want to digress. I did not want to digress. But they are better than the shoes that Minister Pat Gordon - Pamplin has on. They are blue and blue. [Laughter] Hon. Michael H. D unkley: But, Mr. Speaker, I am more careful about my dress when we get to the end of June and early July. But there is no chance that I am changing from the Mighty Somerset. I think the cup will be safe in the West End of the Island again.
[Inaudible interjection s]
CASHBACK FOR COMMUNITIES
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But, Mr. Speaker, do not try to get me to lose my train of thought. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, the Honourable Minister of National Security, who sits in another place, made a Cashback [f or Communities] announcement. And I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister and also the Ministry of N ational Security for bringing it forward. Ministers will recall and Members of this place will recall that in 2013 we passed the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act where criminal assets can be put back into the community from the Confiscated Assets Fund— there was a debate in this Honourable Chamber —to allow those proceeds of crime which are seized by law e nforcement and put into the Confiscated Assets Fund to be taken from that fund, with the approval of the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General, and put back into the community. And, Mr. Speaker, the announcement in what I would call the Opposition Gazette . . . The Oppos ition Members call it the Royal Gazette , an arm of the Government; I see it a different way. The announc ement for Cashback to Communities made page 8— page number 8. I think it was actually after the obituaries, Mr. Speaker. And I find that shocking, because when we tal k about what we try to do to help the community and how we need to pick the community up and how we need to help our young men and our young women and provide empowerment and opportunity, how the Royal Gazette can put something pos itive on page 8 baffles m e, Mr. Speaker. So I am going to use this podium here in the House to show that not only was $140,000 provided yesterday, I believe (no, Wednesday), to nine groups, among those, North Village [Community Club], a great club that helps the community; Wester n Stars; PHC [Pembroke Hamilton Club], the Mighty Zebras; Troika; Crime Stoppers; CARE [Learning Centre], which does great work to help our young people get pushed ahead and get the high school diplomas; helping our seniors in Lorraine Rest Home; the Famil y Centre — $140,000 was given out to nine people. But I researched, Mr. Speaker. In the two years since Cashback was passed, among some scepticism from Members on that side —Oh, it’s going to go to your favourite clubs, and all this type of stuff — over $500,000 have been seized by the police and put back to help our community —$500,000, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: And that was on page 8 of the paper! And the Royal Gazette reporter could not do the research to see the programme, so I am going to carry on. St. George's Cricket Club, and that is why I wore blue today, Mr. Speaker, they got some funding. Chain Reaction, which helps our young people in the schools; Dare2Be, empowering people; Matilda Smith Williams Senior residents; Bermuda Sanshou Ass ociation, one of the most successful martial arts
Bermuda House of Assembly groups, goes away and wins all the time; Women; Bermuda Netball Association. Beyond Rugby, the programme that they do to take our young men and women off the streets at times and get them to do their homework and participate in sports, and we see how these athletes have started to really develop. What about the Hamilton Parish Football Club down in the great parish of Hamilton Parish? And what about YouthNet? And what about Team Street Safe th at is out there trying to help those in our community struggling? And what about those who are addicted? We have reached out to Focus, $510,000. And you know, the Opposition say they want to work with us? They have not mentioned this programme at all. But you know what? If there was one issue with the programme, they would be jumping up in the Trump- style politics, Mr. Speaker. They would be jumping up in the Trump- style politics. And so, I want to congratulate—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Honourable Member. POINT OF ORDER
Mr. E. David BurtYes. Allow me to, because this Trump -style politics is continuing to go. The Honourable Minister will note, or the Honourable Premier will note—
Mr. E. D avid Burt—that the Government cut Focus. So now that money is given back to Focus. You cut Focus already. Make sure you reflect that part of the record as well.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. Thanks, Honourable Member. Thanks, Honourable Member. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, that was a very weak point of order in the Trump- style of politics to try to divert again, and now he is ducking underneath the desk. The fact of the matter is we have been …
All right. Thanks, Honourable Member. Thanks, Honourable Member.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, that was a very weak point of order in the Trump- style of politics to try to divert again, and now he is ducking underneath the desk. The fact of the matter is we have been very clear about Focus; that we have to review the work that is done in Focus in the scheme of the larger r ehabilitation programming to get people going in the right direction. The Honourable Members, if their memory is there long enough and if they had not deleted it, will know that we are doing great work in t he West End of the Island at the Nelson Bascome [ Centre for Substance Abuse]. And so, our resources, while they are stretched because of the poor administration previously, have to be accounted for in the most appropriate way. So I am not going to fall for this Trump -style of politics, Mr. Speaker. ALPHA BEAUTILLION
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Now, Mr. Speaker, let me close in another positive light. I had the opportunity on Sunday night with my honourable colleague, Sylvan Richards, who was a fantastic judg e for the Alpha Beautillion on Sunday night at the Ruth Seaton James [Centre] auditorium. I was very impressed by the whole programme. All six individuals, I followed from the time that they got into the programme. In fact, one of them I had shadow me for a day, and I have seen the tremendous growth of those young men over the approximately six months. I was very impressed by the whole programme, and I want to congratulate all six of those. It is tough because somebody comes out first. And then the rest of them look at what they did and try to figure out why they did not manage to come out first. But they were a close group. They worked well together. The programme was great. The Step [Show] programme at the end was awesome. Their deliberations were good. I love the way they asked the question. There is a part, Mr. Speaker, where they ask a question. And no one knows what the question will be until they get on stage. And they asked the question about tinted visors. And this young man said . . . The question was, Should tinted visors be banned? If the answer is yes, why? If it’s no, why? And this young man said, Yes. And when you do that, give me my $50 so I can get my money back from my visor. That was the end of the answer.
[Laughter]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkl ey: The commentator did not know what to say. He said, Okay, anything else? He goes, No. Just make sure I get my $50 back. But, Mr. Speaker, I was very impressed because there is a lot of pressure when you come out in front of a couple of hundred people and you have to answer very difficult questions, and you perform in many ways. And I mentioned that on the back of this National Heroes announcement, that those young men, with the great work that is done by the Chapter over 15 years now, and the vision, I believe, civil se rvant Aubrey Pennyman has of creating this extra activity within the Chapter, is creating our next gener ation of leaders. And I was so impressed by what I have seen over the years from the commitment of the Alphas to develop those young m en. I think we will see not only our next generation of leaders, but people who will be considered for Queen’s Birthday and New Year’s honours and National Heroes honours, because they are learning from the Alphas and from other people they come into [cont act with]. They are learning about leadership. They are learning the value of empower-ment, working together in opportunity. And I want to finish by not only congratulating those six men and 2100 10 June 2016 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly everyone involved in this, but I want to congratulate the Alphas f or the leadership they provide. Because putting on a show like that is not easy work. It is a long slog, a lot of nights away from your family. But congratulate them for their leadership, their mentoring and their empowerment. And it is a good example for all of us in the community just to do that little bit more. So having said that, Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity. Have a safe weekend. Everyone drive and be safe.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood timing. Honourable Members, the House is adjourned to Friday, June 17 th. [Gavel] [At 8:27 pm, the House stood adjourned until 10:00 am, Friday, 17 July 2016.]